
Garda trainees suspended after allegedly handcuffing fellow trainee
The incident occurred at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary on Thursday and an internal investigation has been launched.
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Two sources close to the Garda College told
BreakingNews.ie
that the victim of the incident is considering dropping out.
The incident was described as a "prank" by those involved, but the victim is adamant this was not the case.
In response to a query about the alleged incident, a Garda spokesperson said: "An Garda Síochána does not comment on ongoing internal investigations."
Numbers at the Garda College have been boosted as part of the Government's attempt to strengthen the force.
Speaking after the latest intake, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said: "This Government is fully committed to strengthening An Garda Síochána by 5,000 members over the next five years.
"We have already taken a number of significant measures to boost recruitment and we will continue to explore all options. More and more Gardaí are coming through this College and onto our streets, and this shows these measures are working.
"I have made increasing recruitment to An Garda Síochána a priority issue. More Gardaí in our cities, villages, and towns is fundamental to achieving our goal of ensuring people are safe and feel safe.'
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The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nikita Hand's lawyer asks court to refer McGregor appeal affidavits to DPP
The Irish Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should examine affidavits making accusations against a woman who sued Conor McGregor, her lawyers have said, after the fighter decided to withdraw them from his appeal. Former hairdresser Nikita Hand, 35, successfully sued McGregor in a civil court over an incident in which he was alleged to have 'brutally raped and battered' her in a penthouse at a south Dublin hotel in December 2018. During a three-week case at the High Court in Dublin last November, McGregor told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand. After six hours and 10 minutes of deliberating, the jury of eight women and four men found McGregor civilly liable for assault. Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, was awarded 248,603.60 euros (about £206,000) in damages. Her lawyers have said she was disadvantaged by 'highly disparaging and unfair criticisms' in 'widely published' claims McGregor brought as part of his appeal that she did not have a chance to reply to in court before they were withdrawn. It related to affidavits from two former neighbours of Ms Hand which said she had been assaulted by her then-partner at around the same time of the incident at the hotel. On Tuesday, McGregor's legal team dramatically withdrew that ground of appeal which would have introduced the new evidence into the proceedings – saying it would no longer be relying on the material. John Gordon SC, for Ms Hand, said it was 'frankly not appropriate' for the ground to be withdrawn at a late basis. He said his client, who had denied accusations within the affidavits, had been 'put through the wringer yet again'. On Wednesday, Mr Gordon raised the matters again and asked the Court of Appeal to use its jurisdiction to refer matters to the DPP. He said the application on the affidavits had been made 'some months ago' and the material the proposed witnesses were due to raise had been 'published widely'. He said the court was aware of the 'scale of the accusations' made against his client, which he said were a series of 'highly disparaging and unfair criticisms' including that she had been lying. Mr Gordon said the application to introduce the witnesses was not just to produce further evidence, but also to 'undermine my client's reputation'. He said Ms Hand had described what was alleged as lies in her responding affidavit and that she should have been entitled for her opportunity to 'call this out in court'. He said his client had been disadvantaged by the application. Mr Gordon also said it amounted to discontinuation of part of the appeal and asked the court to add terms of the payment of costs to Ms Hand's side. Mark Mulholland KC, for McGregor, said that withdrawing the application did not amount to a discontinuation of proceedings and if Mr Gordon believed that a criminal investigation was necessary, it should be dealt with in that forum rather than the court. Speaking before Mr Gordon dealt substantively with the issue on Wednesday, Mr Mulholland said it was an attempt to get the matter on the record for the media, adding that this would be 'wholly inappropriate'. He said costs relating to this specific part of the appeal should be adjudicated within the final determination. He said he had no further comment to make on whether the matters should be referred to the DPP. The judges expressed concern that dealing with the materials relating to the affidavits created a risk of prejudicing any potential criminal prosecution. Meanwhile, the appeal, which has yet to be decided, had proceeded on other grounds largely relating to the circumstances under which his 'no comment' answers to gardai were allowed to enter the trial. Remy Farrell, SC, also for McGregor, said on Tuesday that an 'enormous amount of no comment material' had been entered into the hearings to no actual proper end. He said this occurred under cross-examination by Mr Gordon and was based on an 'entirely incorrect' paraphrasing of what the appellant had actually said. Mr Farrell said his client had made a comment about wanting to seek the best advice from his solicitors and accused Ms Hand's side of incorrectly interpreting the same comments as a suggestion that McGregor had sought to present himself as someone who was being fully co-operative with gardai. Ray Boland SC, for Ms Hand, said it was clear from a holistic consideration of McGregor's evidence that he was putting forward that he wanted to be as co-operative as possible with the investigation.


BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
McGregor appeal material to be referred to DPP amid perjury concern
The Court of Appeal has said it will refer claims by witnesses Conor McGregor pulled from his appeal to the director of public prosecutions (DPP), after concerns about perjury arose. It came after a request by the lawyer of Nikita Hand, 35, who successfully sued McGregor in a civil court over an incident in which he was alleged to have 'brutally raped and battered' her in a penthouse at a south Dublin hotel in December 2018. Advertisement McGregor, who told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand, launched an appeal after a jury of eight women and four men found him civilly liable for assault. That appeal was expected to contain fresh evidence following an affidavit from a former neighbour of Ms Hand, Samantha O'Reilly, who said she had witnessed a physical row between Ms Hand and her then-partner at about the same time of the incident at the Beacon hotel. Ms Hand denies any altercation with her former partner and the court heard she characterised the claims from Ms O'Reilly and Ms O'Reilly's partner Steven Cummins as 'lies'. On Tuesday, McGregor's legal team dramatically withdrew that ground of appeal, saying it would no longer be relying on the material. Advertisement Conor McGregor outside the High Court in Dublin in 2024 (Brian Lawless/PA) On Wednesday, Ms Hand's lawyer John Gordon SC said she had been disadvantaged by 'highly disparaging and unfair criticisms' in 'widely published' claims from the affidavits, adding that she did not have a chance to reply to them in court before they were withdrawn. Mr Gordon said the application to introduce the witnesses was not just to produce further evidence, but also to 'undermine my client's reputation', including by stating she had lied. Mark Mulholland KC, for McGregor, had raised concerns that the request was an attempt to get the matter on the record for the media, adding that this would be 'wholly inappropriate'. Mr Gordon said Ms Hand was 'put through the wringer yet again' and expressed a desire to cross examine Mr Cummins and Ms O'Reilly. Advertisement He asked the Court of Appeal to use its powers to refer matters to the DPP, citing concerns around perjury. The three judges of the court, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr Justice Brian O'Moore and Mr Justice Patrick MacGrath, said they would do so. After a day and a half of representations, they also said they would reserve their judgment on the appeal matters to a later date, adding that decisions relating to costs that arose during deliberations would be decided at that point also. Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, was awarded 248,603.60 euro in damages and McGregor was also ordered to pay about 1.3 million euro in legal costs following November's trial. Advertisement Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, leaving the Court of Appeal in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) McGregor's appeal proceeded on other grounds, largely relating to the circumstances under which his 'no comment' answers to gardai were allowed to enter the trial. Remy Farrell SC, also for McGregor, said on Tuesday that an 'enormous amount of no comment material' had been entered into the hearings to no actual proper end. He said this occurred under cross-examination by Mr Gordon and was based on an 'entirely incorrect' paraphrasing of what the appellant had actually said. Mr Farrell said his client had made a comment about wanting to seek the best advice from his solicitors and accused Ms Hand's side of incorrectly interpreting the same comments as a suggestion that McGregor had sought to present himself as someone who was being fully co-operative with gardai. Advertisement Ray Boland SC, for Ms Hand, said it was clear from a holistic consideration of McGregor's evidence that he was putting forward that he wanted to be as co-operative as possible with the investigation. He said it was appropriate for the line of questioning on the no-comment answers to be admissible. Meanwhile, McGregor's co-defendant has also appealed against the trial judge's decision not to award him his legal costs. During the same trial in November, the jury did not find James Lawrence had assaulted Ms Hand at the hotel. However, trial judge Mr Justice Alexander Owens decided that Ms Hand would not have to pay Mr Lawrence's costs arising out of the proceedings. His legal team is challenging whether that decision was correct and reasonable, arguing that Ms Hand should have to pay as the jury did not find he had assaulted her. Mr Boland said the success of Mr Lawrence's appeal would present 'grubby realities' where McGregor would effectively 'snaffle' back money he had to pay in damages. He told the court that it had been confirmed that McGregor was paying Mr Lawrence's legal costs. He said that the legal bill for Mr Lawrence, which would be due to be paid by Ms Hand if his appeal is successful, is likely to exceed the award of damages to be paid by McGregor. Mr Boland said this would set the jury's verdict on damages 'at nought' when McGregor was 'preparing to pay over the balance' of all costs relating to the matters. He said that McGregor would 'snaffle' back the money he is paying for damages if the appeal of 'his avatar' meant that Ms Hand had to pay Mr Lawrence's costs instead. He said this would not be in the interests of justice. John Fitzgerald SC, for Mr Lawrence, said Mr Owens made the decision not to award costs based on an incorrect interpretation of the jury's verdict and that his client had an entitlement to costs. The Irish Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment in relation to the appeals of McGregor and Lawrence and will give its decisions at a later date.


BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (25) with brain injury after steel jack dislodged at road works fell on him settles action for €4.75m
A 25-year-old man who suffered a traumatic brain injury when, it was claimed, he was struck by a steel jack which was dislodged when a car drove by road works has settled a High Court action for €4.75 million. Karam Ali, his counsel Edward Walsh SC instructed by Connellan Solicitors, told the High Court was a general operative and was working laying ducts on Shantalla Road, Galway city, when the accident happened five years ago. Advertisement Counsel said a car struck a steel jack which then collided with Mr Ali. Liability, counsel said, was conceded last year and the case was before the court for assessment of damages only. The settlement was reached after mediation. He said Mr Ali suffered an acquired brain injury and now has difficulty with concentration and excess fatigue, and other issues. He had been in this country for eight months when the accident happened. Karam Ali (25)with an address in Bradford, England, had sued car driver Mohamed El Helali of Barnacranny, Bushy Park, Galway, as a result of the accident on May 1st, 2020. Advertisement It was claimed that the car suddenly and without warning struck a steel jack, which in turn hit Mr Ali, and he suffered catastrophic injuries. Mr Ali was wearing a safety helmet, which it was claimed was knocked off in the accident. It was claimed there was a failure to appreciate the presence of Mr Ali on the roadway and a failure to appreciate that works were ongoing. It was further claimed that the driver allegedly neglected to look where he was driving and allegedly failed to drive with due care and attention and to proceed cautiously past the works where Mr Ali was working. There was also, it was contended, a failure to take account of the roadworks and traffic conditions pertaining at the time and to take heed of Mr Ali on the public road. Advertisement Mr Ali, who sustained a head injury including fractures to the skull, was taken to hospital in Galway and later transferred to Dublin, where he had to have an operation to remove part of his skull to manage brain swelling due to severe traumatic brain injury. His family travelled to Ireland to be at his bedside, and he was later transferred to a UK hospital. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was fair and reasonable.