Case against gardai in Sligo halted

An action for damages by a man who claimed that he was severely assaulted by gardaí in Sligo Garda station ended abruptly at the High Court yesterday when the judge discharged the jury.

Late yesterday afternoon, Miss Justice Carroll told the jurors that she had to discharge them from further hearing the action of Mr David Murtagh. She also directed that Mr Murtagh pay the costs of the two-day hearing. The case is to be mentioned at a later date.

The discharge came just after a GP, Dr Peadar O'Kelly, began to give evidence in the hearing.

Shortly after Dr O'Kelly said that he had been in practice with the late Dr Alan Howard, who was Mr Murtagh's family doctor, Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, for the State, said that he had a matter to raise in the absence of the jury. Legal submissions followed and the judge recalled the jury to discharge it.

Mr Murtagh (35), a separated unemployed father of three, of Union Place, Sligo, had sued the State for damages over the alleged assault in Sligo Garda station on the night of January 1st, 1996.

Opening the case, Mr Garret Cooney SC, for Mr Murtagh, said that his client had psychological trouble in 1995 and was on medication, but that the "hiding" administered by gardaí had worsened that condition. Mr Murtagh had been severely assaulted and hosed down in the Garda station after he was taken there from his parents' home, Mr Cooney said.

Earlier yesterday, in continuing cross-examination by Mr O'Higgins, Mr Murtagh denied a suggestion that his drinking and what he "did to himself" in the station were the cause of his problems. He said gardaí beat him up because "they were calling me a queer bastard".

Mr Murtagh, who has a history of psychiatric admissions, said that he had been charged with sexual assault against three men and a lot of Sligo gardaí "were calling me names and abusing me on the street".

Mr O'Higgins suggested that any injuries he had sustained on the night of January 1st/2nd 1996 were caused by his drinking earlier that night, his falling down the steps of his parents' home and through him beating his head, arms and feet off a cell door in Sligo Garda station. Mr Murtagh said: "It was the gardaí in Sligo who beat me up . . . my life has not been right since".

Mr O'Higgins suggested that Mr Murtagh had a severe increase in his problems when he was charged with sexual offences for which he subsequently received a four-year suspended sentence. Mr Murtagh said the sex charges had nothing to do with his problems, but that was why the gardaí "beat me up".

Mr Murtagh said he had been admitted to St Columba's and Sligo General Hospital, but he did not know the dates. He agreed that there might have been admissions before January 1996. Mr O'Higgins said his records indicated that Mr Murtagh was admitted twice in September 1995 and once in December 1995.

Mr Roger Murray, a solicitor, said that he saw Mr Murtagh on January 4th, 1996. He noted a bruise to his right temple, a kind of black eye, a cut to the left side of his face, marks on his chin. He also saw that a tooth was missing and that his buttocks were quite bruised.