A man who was convicted, in his absence, of affray committed in 2018, has had his appeal against his conviction thrown out.

Magistrates fined him £700 for the offence, ordered him to pay £800 prosecution costs, and to forfeit £500 from his bail recognizance.

The trial was held in January 2019 but Kennedy failed to turn up saying he was in Northern Ireland at the time, where he was on bail for offences there.

The affray took place on a Saturday afternoon on Douglas promenade when Kennedy ended up brawling with Ian Richard Watson, of Keppel Road, Douglas. Watson, who is 47, admitted affray in September last year and was fined £1,000.

A warrant was issued for Kennedy’s arrest after he failed to turn up for his trial and was found guilty in his absence. In June last year, he was ordered to pay the £2,000 fine and costs by magistrates.

Kennedy’s appeal, submitted on July 9, 2020, was filed for two reasons. Firstly that he had been convicted in his absence, through no fault of his own, and that he had acted in self-defence, so was not guilty.

However, Kennedy’s appeal was out of time, he said this was because he was ’removed by the police to Northern Ireland’. He had been arrested by Manx officers and taken to Northern Ireland on a separate issue.

He was removed from the island on September 6, 2018, and returned to this island for his pre-trial review on October 23, 2018.

During the pre-trial review, a date was set for his trial by then Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes for Friday January 25 2019. Kennedy was present during this and his advocate Jane Gray confirmed the date with Mrs Hughes.

Judge of Appeal Justice Jeremy Storey and Deemster Graeme Cook said in their judgment on Kennedy’s appeal that while he was then jailed in Northern Ireland on November 23, 2018, he was released on December 14 of the same year, six weeks before his trial date.

They added: ’Although the appellant was on bail in Northern Ireland on a charge of common assault (until May 2019, when the charge was withdrawn), so far as we are aware there was no condition preventing him from travelling to the Isle of Man - as he had done for the pre-trial review on October 23, 2018 while also on bail to the Northern Ireland court.

’In any event, even if there had been a condition preventing him from leaving Northern Ireland, he could have notified the Isle of Man magistrates’ court and sought an adjournment.

’We are therefore quite satisfied that the appellant, with full knowledge of his January 2019 trial date, voluntarily absented himself.’