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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Jurors to continue deliberating on assault claim against former Clare hurler Niall Gilligan
A jury of seven men and five women in the trial of former Clare All-Ireland winning hurler Niall Gilligan are to continue their deliberations on Wednesday. Mr Gilligan (48), of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge, denies assault causing harm with a stick of a boy, then 12, at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, in 2023. The jury at Ennis Circuit Court deliberated for nearly three hours on Tuesday before asking the judge: 'What is the next step if we are not unanimous?' Judge Francis Comerford said there were various procedures that can kick in, but it was 'always preferable' to reach a unanimous verdict. READ MORE He told them to break for the day to 'make a fresh start' in the morning. In his closing speech to the jury on Monday, Patrick Whyms, defending, said Mr Gilligan 'didn't know that he was dealing with a child and did not create this situation'. Mr Whyms said Mr Gilligan 'was at the end of his tether' over vandalism being done to a vacant property he was trying to sell. Putting forward the defence of reasonable force, Mr Whyms said Mr Gilligan was 'in the dark and believed that he was under siege' on the night of October 5th, 2023. Sarah Jane Comerford, prosecuting, said: 'This is a story of a man who lost his cool.' She said Mr Gilligan 'lost control and punished the boy for the damage and inconvenience caused to his property on a morning when he had to clean up human faeces and urine from his property'. The jury continues its deliberations on Wednesday.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Clare hurler Niall Gilligan ‘lost control' and ‘punished' boy with stick, court hears
All-Ireland winning Clare hurler Niall Gilligan 'lost it' when he hit a 12-year-old child 'multiple times' with a stick in 2023, the State has said in a closing speech. At Ennis Circuit Court on Monday, Sarah Jane Comerford said Mr Gilligan 'lost control' when he 'punished' the boy for the damage caused to his Jamaica Inn hostel property in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. Mr Gilligan, who was selected as an All Star during his inter-county career, denies a charge of assault causing harm to the boy with a stick at the hostel on October 5th, 2023. Defence counsel Patrick Whyms said Mr Gilligan was in no way trying to suggest he was entitled to punish the boy as suggested and said the boy's injuries 'are clearly regrettable'. READ MORE Mr Whyms said Mr Gilligan 'didn't know that he was dealing with a child and did not create this situation'. Mr Gilligan 'was at the end of his tether' over the vandalism to a vacant property he was trying to sell, the barrister said. Putting forward the defence of reasonable force, Mr Whyms said Mr Gilligan was at the hostel on the night of October 5th 'in the dark and believed that he was under siege'. 'Believing himself under threat and needing to protect himself and his property, Niall Gilligan needs to make an instant decision and so we are here,' said Mr Whyms, instructed by solicitor Daragh Hassett. To the jury, he said: 'Did Niall Gilligan use such force as was reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be? If he did then no offence was committed.' Mr Whyms said an undisplaced fracture to the finger is 'the only fracture in this case'. [ Niall Gilligan case: Former hurler said he acted in 'a reasonable manner' at time of alleged assault on boy (12) Opens in new window ] Earlier Ms Comerford, instructed by State solicitor for Clare Aisling Casey, said this is a 'story of a man who lost his cool'. 'Instead of picking up the boy after he slipped and bringing him out to his car and driving him home and telling his parents, he hit him and lost it and he was angry and frustrated,' she said. Ms Comerford said Mr Gilligan 'lost control and punished the boy for the damage and inconvenience caused to his property on a morning when he had to clean up human faeces and urine from his property'. She said the evidence of the boy and his friend 'is credible and can be relied upon to the high standard beyond reasonable doubt'. Of course the boy knew it was not okay to explore a building without permission, to let off fire extinguishers and to remove keys, she said. She said a medical report said the boy suffered a head injury, loss of consciousness, bowel incontinence and injuries to his arms and shoulders. 'He lost consciousness for a while. He must have been hit multiple times in order to have sustained as many injuries as he did in the various locations you can see in the photos taken on the night and following day,' she said. Self-defence should not be available to Mr Gilligan as a defence due to the level of force he used, she said. Judge Francis Comerford commenced his charge to the jury on Monday. The jury will begin deliberating after the judge completes his charge.
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Former All-Ireland winning hurler 'lost it' and hit child 'multiple times' with a stick, court hears
Former All-Star and Clare All-Ireland winning hurler, Niall Gilligan 'lost it' when he hit a then 12 year old child 'multiple times' with a stick. That is according to counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL who told a jury at Ennis Circuit Court on Monday that Mr Gilligan 'lost control' on October 5th 2023 when he punished the boy for the damage being caused at the time to his Jamaica Inn hostel property in Sixmilebridge. Advertisement Ms Comerford was making her closing speech in the case where Mr Gilligan (48) of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge, denies the assault causing harm with a stick of the then 12 year old at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge on October 5th 2023. In his own closing speech, counsel for Mr Gilligan, Patrick Whyms BL said in no way is Mr Gilligan trying to suggest that he was entitled to punish the boy as was suggested and said that the injuries sustained by the boy 'are clearly regrettable'. Mr Whyms said that on the evening at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Mr Gilligan 'didn't know that he was dealing with a child and did not create this situation'. Mr Whyms said that Mr Gilligan "was at the end of his tether" by the vandalism being done to a vacant property he was trying to sell. Advertisement Putting forward the defence of reasonable force against the charge of assault causing harm, Mr Whyms said that Mr Gilligan was at the Jamaica Inn hostel on the night of October 5th 'in the dark and believed that he was under siege'. He said: 'Believing himself under threat and needing to protect himself and his property, Niall Gilligan needs to make an instant decision and so we are here." Mr Whyms (instructed by solicitor, Daragh Hassett) said: 'And Mr Gilligan, a family man who has young children and no previous convictions gives a clear story which has't changed and an entirely credible, fulsome account of what happened." Mr Whyms said to the jury: 'Did Niall Gilligan use such force as was reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be and if he did then no offence was committed.' Advertisement In his prepared statement at Shannon Garda Station in February 2024 on the alleged assault, Mr Whyms said that Mr Gilligan 'has given a perfectly plausible account in an otherwise impeccably accurate description of what occurred which placed the boys inside the building when he met them'. On the medical evidence, Mr Whyms said: 'Nobody wants to see a child being injured and it would be much better if that didn't happen and the boy was injured in this case." He said: 'There doesn't seem to be much room for argument that he was injured from the actions of Niall Gilligan.' Mr Whyms said that a displaced fracture of a finger on the boy's left hand 'is the only fracture in this case'. Advertisement He said 'There was mention of dislocated shoulders, broken tibias and broken wrists all over the evidence but none of those things happened." 'There is an un-displaced fracture of a finger - that is not a good thing to happen but that it is what happened' He said: 'There were injuries and there were sustained in the incident but by and large, most were cleared up in the week and the last one was pretty well cleared up in two weeks." Mr Whyms said that the injuries 'don't look nice on the photographs - there is no getting away from that and injuries that are photographed immediately after don't look nice'. Advertisement Earlier in her closing speech Ms Comerford (instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) told the jury: 'This is a story of a man who lost his cool.' She said: 'Instead of picking up the boy after he slipped and bringing him out to his car and driving him home and telling his parents, he hit him and lost it and he was angry and frustrated.' Ms Comerford said that the alleged assault in broad daylight 'is the action of a man who took out his anger and frustration on a child. There is no evidence that his injuries were caused by anything other than his interactions with Niall Gilligan.' Ms Comerford said that Niall Gilligan 'lost control and punished the boy for the damage and inconvenience caused to his property on a morning when he had to clean up human faeces and urine from his property'. Ms Comerford said that the evidence of the then 12 year old boy and his friend 'is credible and can be relied upon to the high standard beyond reasonable doubt'. Ms Comerford said that the then 12 year old 'of course he knew that it not okay to explore a building without permission, to let off fire extinguishers, to remove keys so he would have access to the building again, but he was a 12 year old child and he was exploring and knew that others had been there before'. Ms Comerford said that the boy "thought Niall Gilligan would threaten him with a stick. He didn't think he was actually going to hit him, but he did and he kept hitting him'. She told the jury: 'I would suggest to you that the boy was shocked and in disbelief that this could happen - that a grown man would hit a child and not once and not a clip around the ear and a kick up the backside followed by a drive home to tell his parents to say what the child had been up to'. Ms Comerford said that the boy knew that Mr Gilligan 'was a big strong man who he never thought would viciously assault him'. She said: 'You will recall him saying 'he was so big and I was so little' and Mr Gilligan was so big and the boy was so little.' Highlighting the medical evidence, Ms Comerford said that the first medical report stated 'Head injury, loss of consciousness, bowel incontinence, right shoulder injury query, right posterior elbow wound? left hand and wrist injury, left tibia wound exposure and maybe fracture'. She said: 'In the later reports, there is a reference to an X-ray to his tibia and fibula which was suggestive of a non-displaced fracture and ultimately it doesn't appear that this was a fracture." Ms Comerford said that 'it is understandable when you look at the photos why there may have been a query on fractures when you look at the level of bruising sustained by the body of the boy' She said that the boy slipped outside the Jamaica Inn and was lying on his stomach 'and you can see clearly the marks on both buttocks, the wrist injury, the shoulder bruising, the arm injury and the bruising around the ribs and the gash to his shin bone when he was hit over and over again". She said: 'He lost consciousness for a while. He must have been hit multiple times in order to have sustained as many injuries as he did in the various locations you can see in the photos taken on the night and following day.' She said: 'The only evidence you have on how those injuries were caused is the boy's video statement who said that he was hit with a stick a number of times before he was knocked out. 'The reason why he knew he was knocked out is that he didn't remember that he was dragged and also had incontinence… He can be forgiven for thinking that he disclosed his shoulder when you see the extensive bruising all around his shoulder.' Ms Comerford described Ms Gilligan's prepared statement given to gardai at Shannon Garda Station in February 2024 as 'a self-serving fabricated story to justify an encounter with a 12 year old child'. Ms Comerford said that the account 'is purposefully vague' and 'I don't think you can believe anything that Niall Gilligan says about how he came to assault the young boy'. Ms Comerford said in his statement Mr Gilligan says he got 'entangled in the dark and they fell on top of each other'. Ms Comerford said: 'Mr Gilligan didn't fall and get entangled with the boy. He beat him there and he knew it. He lost control, he was angry and frustrated and he needed to cover all angles and that is why he said that to the Gardai.' Ireland Teen said he heard sound of wood hitting his frien... Read More Ms Comerford told the jury that they should give greater weight to the evidence of the 12 year old boy and his friend who allowed themselves to be subject to cross examination from Mr Whyms on their evidence and 'withstood the cross examination'. Ms Comerford said that due to the level of force used by Mr Gilligan in the assault, the defence of self-defence should not be available to him. At the conclusion of the closing speeches Judge Francis Comerford commenced his charge to the jury. Judge Comerford said that he will continue his charge to the jury on Tuesday. When Judge Comerford completes his charge, the jury will then commence their deliberations.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
State concludes its case against former All-Star hurler Niall Gilligan
The State has concluded its case against former All-Star and Clare All-Ireland winning hurler, Niall Gilligan, where the 48-year-old is accused of assaulting a then 12-year-old boy with a stick in October 2023. At Ennis Circuit Court on Monday, counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL, instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey, told the court that the State had concluded its evidence in the case. Advertisement In the case, Mr Gilligan denies a charge of assault causing harm of a 12-year-old boy with a stick at the Jamaica Inn hostel in Sixmilebridge, on October 5th 2023. In court this morning, counsel for Mr Gilligan, Patrick Whyms BL, instructed by solicitor, Daragh Hassett, called two witnesses on behalf of the defence. The first defence witness, a professional photographer, Martin Murphy, told the court that he took photos at the Jamaica Inn hostel in Sixmilebridge on instruction of Niall Gilligan on October 5th 2024, one year on from the alleged assault on October 5th 2023. Mr Murphy took photos in the early evening from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at the same time of the alleged assault in October 2023. Advertisement Mr Murphy also went to the property to take more photos earlier this month, and copies of all of the photos were shown to the jury. Mr Murphy told the court that he has known "Niall since he was a young lad". The court was told that Mr Gilligan is a publican, auctioneer and a farmer who has cattle. Shannon-based builder provider, Flan O'Neill, gave evidence that he sold plywood on October 5th 2023, to Niall Gilligan. Advertisement Mr O'Neill said that the plywood was cut to size as Mr Gilligan, who the jury has been told has no previous convictions, required the plywood due to broken windows at his Jamaica Inn hostel in Sixmilebridge. Mr O'Neill said the cost of the plywood for Mr Gilligan was €36 including VAT. At the conclusion of Mr O'Neill's evidence, Mr Whyms told Judge Francis Comerford 'That's the evidence in the case'. Judge Comerford told the jury that they have now heard the evidence in the case, and they will shortly hear closing speeches from lawyers for each side. Advertisement On Friday, the jury was also told that the then 12-year-old boy that Mr Gilligan is alleged to have assaulted sustained a fractured bone in his left hand. Medical reports from October 2023 show that the boy, on examination, also had a 2cm wound to his right forearm, a 2cm wound to his right shin, bruising to his right shoulder, while medics also believed that the boy lost consciousness briefly earlier on October 5th 2023. Mr Gilligan was formally arrested on suspicion of assault at Shannon Garda Station on February 19th 2024, and accompanied there by his solicitor, Daragh Hassett. Mr Gilligan denied any assault and said that on October 5th 2023, at the Jamaica Inn hostel: 'I acted in a reasonable manner to protect myself from injury and assault from a person or persons unknown to me in the conditions that prevailed.' Ireland Niall Gilligan says 'I didn't know who or what was... Read More In a prepared statement, Mr Gilligan added: 'I acted in a reasonable manner to protect my property from destruction by fire and further damage.' Advertisement He said: 'I didn't know who or what was coming at me that night." He said: 'I feel sorry for the boy, but the fact is that if he and others hadn't broken into my property, lit a fire, stolen the keys and caused other damage, this incident would never have happened." The case continues before a jury of seven men and five women.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Jury to hear closing speeches in assault trial of All-Ireland winning hurler Niall Gilligan
The State has concluded its case against All-Ireland winning Clare hurler Niall Gilligan, who is on trial accused of assaulting a then 12-year-old boy with a stick in 2023. At Ennis Circuit Court on Monday, Sarah Jane Comerford BL, instructed by State Solicitor for Clare Aisling Casey, said the prosecution had concluded its evidence. Mr Gilligan, who was selected as an All Star during his inter-county career, denies a charge of assault causing harm to the boy with a stick at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare on October 5th, 2023. Defence counsel Patrick Whyms BL, instructed by solicitor Daragh Hassett, on Monday called two witnesses. READ MORE Photographer Martin Murphy told the court he took photographs at the Jamaica Inn on Mr Gilligan's instruction October 5th, 2024 – one year on from the alleged assault. He took photographs between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, the same time as the alleged assault, and he took further photographs earlier this month, with copies of both sets shown to the jury. Mr Murphy told the court he has known 'Niall since he was a young lad'. The court was told that Mr Gilligan is a publican, auctioneer and a farmer who has cattle. Flan O'Neill, a Shannon-based builders' provider, gave evidence that he sold plywood on October 5th, 2023 to Mr Gilligan. He said the plywood was cut to size as Mr Gilligan required it because windows had been broken at the Jamaica Inn hostel. At the conclusion of Mr O'Neill's evidence, Mr Whyms told Judge Francis Comerford 'that's the evidence in the case'. The judge told the jury the next step would be closing speeches from lawyers for each side. On Friday, the jury heard the then 12-year-boy who Mr Gilligan is accused of assaulting allegedly sustained a fractured bone in his left hand. Medical reports from October 2023 showed he also had a 2cm wounds to his right forearm and shin, bruising to his right shoulder and they medics believed he briefly lost consciousness on October 5th, 2023. Mr Gilligan was formally arrested on suspicion of assault on February 19th, 2024. He denied assaulting the boy, saying he 'acted in a reasonable manner' to protect myself from injury and assault from a person or persons unknown. He said he felt 'sorry for the boy but the fact is that if he and others hadn't broken into my property, lit a fire, stole the keys and caused other damage, this incident would never have happened'. The case continues.
