'Agitated' Sheffield man terrorised ex-friends by brandishing machete outside their home in early hours

Prior to arriving at the Meersbrook family home of his former friends, Gerry McDonagh, phoned one of them up and began making threats, Sheffield Crown Court heard.  

Detailing the circumstances of McDonagh’s criminality, the judge, Recorder Felicity Davies, told him: “At around 4.30am, you phoned the complainant, who was the sister of your former friend, who, indeed I understand you were friendly with - her and their father.”

“You rang her making threats that you were going to harm her brother and her father because of this dispute between you.

“You made a series of further calls, one of them was FaceTime. You showed her you had a motorbike to use.”

A hearing held on September 3, 2024 heard how McDonagh, aged 26, also told the complainant that he was on his way to their family home with his ‘thing,’ which she took to mean he was in possession of a weapon. 

Recorder Davies continued: “She was concerned about your threats to her family. She got a taxi home, and when she got there, she heard a motorbike and saw you standing outside her house holding a machete, waving it and shouting that she should get her brother and father outside now. 

“You were plainly highly agitated and angry. You then hit the windscreen of a car parked close by, damaging the windscreen.”

The court heard how the complainant’s brother subsequently came outside, at which point McDonagh began ‘waving the machete’ in his direction. 

“The complainant was so alarmed that she ran indoors, that she got a kitchen knife to defend herself,” Recorder Davies told McDonagh. 

Prosecutor, Stephanie Hollis, said the incident, which took place on April 27, 2024, only came to an end when McDonagh got back on his motorbike and drove off. 

Police were called and McDonagh was later arrested at his home address, where officers found his machete stashed under a sofa.

McDonagh, of Abbeydale Road South, Sheffield, was charged with and pleaded guilty to affray, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article.

Ms Hollis told the court that McDonagh’s criminal record spans 21 convictions for 37 offences, 15 of which relate to violence, with two separate robbery charges. 

In a statement read to the court, the complainant described having a ‘heightened’ sense of danger in the wake of the incident, which causes her to feel anxious at the sound of a motorbike or a knock on the door. 

She also said she was fearful of ‘reprisals’ from McDonagh, after going to the police. 

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Defending, Amanda Denton said McDonagh, who had been remanded into custody since the incident, was under ‘stress and pressure’ at the time of the offence. 

She said McDonagh has a number of ‘mental health difficulties,’ referring Recorder Davies to reports submitted on his behalf, and alluded to reasons he may find a custodial setting more difficult than most. 

Elaborating on this, Recorder Davies said McDonagh, while recalled to prison for a matter that was subsequently withdrawn by the relevant complainant, was hit with an ‘iron bar’ in an attack carried out by some of his fellow inmates. 

This led to McDonagh suffering a stroke, resulting in long-lasting health issues including ‘frightening’ seizures, continued Recorder Davies. 

Detailing other mitigating factors, Recorder Davies also noted that McDonagh was also subjected to significant trauma from a young age, including being placed into foster care. 

She said McDonagh was then placed with a Sheffield family, and consequently enjoyed a period of stability and happiness, only to be removed from them and transferred to a children’s home in another city. 

Ms Denton told the court that the family in question still wish to support McDonagh, but said the family was keen to stress that they do not condone his behaviour and would not tolerate him acting in a similar way in the future. 

“My instructions are to express his regret in behaving in the way he did,” Ms Denton said, adding that McDonagh has one child, with a second on the way, and he would like to have a role in both of their lives. 

Recorder Davies said she had been persuaded to step back from sending McDonagh to prison, and sentenced him to a 12-month community order, with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement. 

She said she had reached that decision after reading the reports submitted on his behalf, his ‘considerable mitigating factors,’ his remorse and the fact that prior to this incident, McDonagh had stayed out of trouble since 2018. 

“It’s clear to me you are capable of leading a worthwhile life, if only you can manage to restrain your emotions in the future; and I take the view that you are very much in need of assistance,” Recorder Davies told McDonagh. 

She also granted a restraining order, which prohibits McDonagh from contacting the complainant or her family for a period of five years.