Boy could hear friend screaming as former Clare hurler Niall Gilligan hit him with a stick, court hears
In a videoed interview with specialist gardaí played to the jury on Thursday at Ennis Circuit Court, the boy said that his friend 'got attacked by a man' who had 'a smooth, wooden stick kind of a thing and he just started hitting him with it'.
The boy said his father later showed him a photo of Mr Gilligan and the boy confirmed that the man who attacked his friend was the accused.
Mr Gilligan (48) of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge, denies the assault causing harm with a stick of the boy at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge on October 5th, 2023.
READ MORE
The two 12-year-olds had been exploring the abandoned hostel after 5pm on October 5th.
Mr Gilligan owned the Jamaica Inn hostel at the time and the jury has been told that in the days leading up to October 5th, it had been broken into and vandalised.
In the video interview carried out on November 11th, 2023, the witness said as the two boys left the building and came around a corner, they saw 'a tall, kind of strong-looking' man holding a stick and they both ran.
He said that his friend – also 12 years old at the time – slipped 'and he just started attacking him with the bat'.
The boy said: 'I thought he was getting back up but then I just heard the screams out of him, getting attacked by the man and a bat hitting off of him and then I ran around the corner into this industrial estate and I hid'.
Asked how he felt by the specialist Garda interviewer, the boy said 'terrified', and added 'but I just got out of there as fast as I could, all I could think was 'get out of there' and I did'.
The boy described the man as 'fit-looking like, gingery brown kinda hair'.
He said: 'I seen him playing hurling with I was younger and he played for the Bridge and Clare.'
The boy told gardaí Mr Gilligan is an auctioneer in Sixmilebridge.
Asked about his friend's screaming, the boy said: 'I heard him shouting, like I heard him screaming, like, telling him to stop. My friend telling him to f**k off and to leave him alone, that was about it'.
The boy hid in a nearby industrial estate and he said that felt relatively safe 'but I was still very scared that somehow he could have seen me'.
A short time later, the boy said that he saw his friend come around the corner 'and he was limping like he was holding his arm, holding his hand, holding the wrist he broke and it was all swelling up'.
The boy said that his friend was 'looking in pain, he had lots of mud all over him'.
The boy told gardaí that his friend 'was very shaky, obviously he felt very, very scared and in a lot of pain'.
He said: 'I was just supporting him to walk up, just like holding him up ... I put my arm around his back so I could support him so he could have one of his legs off the ground so it would be easier for him to walk.'
The boy said that his friend 'said 'it just hurts everywhere' is all he said.
The boy said that his friend told him 'go home because if he sees you, he is going to get you as well'.
The cross examination of the boy on his direct video evidence is taking place on Thursday afternoon before a jury of seven men and five women.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
a minute ago
- Irish Times
Woman with black eye and newborn baby claims husband ‘kicked me and dragged me up and down'
A woman who had a black eye when she came to the emergency domestic violence court with her newborn baby claimed her husband 'kicked me and dragged me up and down'. Two other women who brought separate emergency applications under the Domestic Violence Act to the court at Dolphin House, Dublin, on Friday, also had babies with them. When Judge William Aylmer remarked on the first woman's black eye, she said her husband kicked her and dragged her up and down and was abusive many times during their long marriage. She had given him 'loads of chances' to change his behaviour but he had not. 'I don't feel safe. I've had enough.' READ MORE 'He reckons the drink and drugs make him do this.' He also blamed his behaviour on trying to deal with several suicides in his birth family, she added. Her mother had told her she needed to 'wake up' and stop tolerating her husband's abusive behaviour. 'I have to think of my own health and the kids. He needs to stop his pity party.' Judge Aylmer, telling the woman he agreed with her, granted her a protection order. In another case, a weeping woman with a baby got a protection order against the child's father. He 'gets very angry out of nowhere', 'never stops' and she has spent two months asking him to leave her apartment, she said. He had a 'meltdown' some days earlier when she took the baby from him before he had finished changing her nappy. The baby was hiccupping and she took her up because she feared the infant was about to vomit, she said. He 'gritted' his teeth, called her 'disgusting' and put his finger in her face. 'The look on his face, I got really scared.' She had permitted him to live with her for periods and he kicked her out on some occasions, she said. 'I slept in a hotel when I was nine months pregnant because he would not give me a break.' They had gone to therapy but he had not taken agreed actions to address his issues, she said. 'I have no problem him having a relationship with his daughter but our relationship is over. I can't be with him.' A woman with a baby and toddler got an interim barring order against her partner. She said he physically abused her previously and recently forced his way out of their home after pushing her away from the door when she confronted him about a suspected affair. He grabbed her arm, leaving her with bruises, and when she sought to stop him leaving, drove his car towards her, scaring her, she said. He has not returned home and had told a social worker he did not intend to, she said. A distraught mother who told the judge she is in fear and has 'lost everything' as a result of her adult daughter's drug addiction got a protection order against her. Her daughter, aged in her thirties, told her 'one side of my brain is telling me to stab and slice you and the other side is saying 'that's your Mammy''. Her daughter had been in a violent relationship and has children, all of whom are being cared for by other family members. 'God help any other family going through this.' She paid €3,000 to drug dealers for her daughter's debts and her daughter constantly pesters her for money, especially at night. 'She is getting worse and worse, the drugs have her destroyed, she'll be at it again tonight, I can't bear it.' After she spent almost €500 getting her daughter into a treatment unit, she was thrown out due to excess drugs in her system, she said. Another treatment appointment was fixed for later this year. 'It's destroying me, all we're doing is ringing places trying to get her help and we're getting nowhere.' When the judge said drugs are a 'demon' and many are in the same position, the woman agreed. 'I can see the little kids being destroyed, they are little 'gofers' for them.' She grew up in a large family, none got involved in drugs, she never drank and 'worked hard all my life to put food on the table'. Many people she grew up with were dead from drugs. In another case, the judge granted a fresh protection order to a woman who said gardaí found a meat cleaver, which she did not know was there, in a box in her home after her ex-partner had threatened to 'chop me up'. He had been diagnosed with a serious mental illness and accused her of having listening devices in the house, she said. She previously got a protection order against him but gardaí could not locate him to serve it. She last saw him in May and did not know where he was.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘It's not about the money' jokes Bryan O'Mara as Tipperary GAA star gives update on hurley lost after league match
BRYAN O'MARA'S missing hurley has never been found. The Tipperary ace lost his beloved camán after the county's NHL win over Clare in Thurles on March 22. Advertisement 2 Bryan O'Mara lost his hurley after Tipperary's league win over Clare Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile 2 He revealed he still hasn't got it back Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile The Premier issued a public appeal for the return of the stick, saying: 'Bryan O'Mara's Hurley was taken from Semple Stadium last night. If the person or anyone that knows the person that might have taken it, could they please let any member of the county team / board know. Once returned there will be no repercussions.' But the appeal was fruitless and the case remains a mystery ahead of today's All-Ireland final against Cork. O'Mara said: 'No, I never got it back! People were calling me mean for not just buying a new one, but it's not about the money. 'I just left it down to sign a few hurls and it was whipped, gone! So yeah, I didn't think someone would do it, I was thick! Advertisement Read More on GAA 'There was a funny fella on Twitter who said he was going to cut off a piece every hour until he was paid. It turned into a bit of craic.'
Irish Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Gardaí hit tractor driver with points and fine after catching illegal tint
A tractor driver was issued penalty points and a fine after Gardaí spotted their window tint was not at a legal level. Cavan Gardaí pulled the tractor driver near Kingscourt after they spotted the tinted windows. After texting, officers found the windows only allowed 30 per cent of light to pass through. As per the law, 65 per cent of light must be able to pass through the window of a vehicle, however, the tractor was found to be in breach of that regulation. The driver was hit with both penalty points and a fine following the stop. A Garda spokesperson said: 'We pulled in the driver of this tractor near Kingscourt, Co. Cavan to test the tint on the front and driver side windows. 'The legally required minimum is 65 per cent. These tested 30 per cent. Has to be sorted before it's driven again, and the driver was issued points and a fine.' The traffic stop caused discourse surrounding the necessity of issuing penalty points and a fine following the incident. The Garda spokesperson wrote: 'We're pleased to see that this post about one of our all too many day-to-day detections for road traffic offences has gotten the important conversation going on matters of road safety. That's the objective.' They added in another comment: 'This driver was travelling on a public road. By tinting your vehicle's windows within the legal parameters as set out in the Road Traffic Act, we'll have one less offence to enforce in our work to keep all road users safe.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
