Judge revokes bail in assault case

A District Court judge yesterday revoked bail for a 25-year-old Kilrush man charged with assaulting a 60-year-old man in Kilrush on July 18th last.

At a special sitting of Ennis District Court, Judge Joseph Mangan said there was not a scintilla of doubt in his mind that witnesses in the case had been subjected to intimidation of the most sinister, most serious and most massive kind in relation to the assault charge.

Judge Mangan said that revoking bail for Martin O'Brien (25), of St Senan's Terrace, Kilrush, removing him from the place of the alleged crime and remanding him in custody would ameliorate that situation.

The judge said that he made his finding arising from the demeanour of civilian witnesses in court yesterday and last Friday and from the circumstantial evidence in the case. He also stated that he accepted without reservation the evidence from Garda witnesses in the case.

Mr O'Brien is charged with assaulting Patrick Kelleher on July 18th at Crawford Street, Kilrush.

Judge Mangan adjourned the application to yesterday's court to have witnesses who declined to give evidence in relation to the assault charge summonsed to court. Mr O'Brien had also been remanded in custody over the weekend to yesterday's court.

The court heard that rocks had been thrown through the door and window of Mr Kelleher's house last Thursday, one day after Mr O'Brien appeared in court in connection with the alleged assault.

The court heard that two witnesses to the alleged assault declined to give statements after telling gardaí that they had been approached by the O'Brien family and told not to give statements.

Insp Tom Kennedy said that Mr Kelleher had already made a statement of complaint in relation to the alleged assault. However, addressing the court yesterday, Mr Kelleher said: "I know one thing for certain, and I know this for a fact, the man in court today is not the man that hit me."

Insp Kennedy told the court that the rock-throwing at the Kelleher house had been "under the control and direction" of Martin O'Brien in an attempt to intimidate Mr Kelleher to withdraw his statement.

However, Patrick Enright, solicitor for Mr O'Brien, said that there was not a shred of evidence that Mr O'Brien had intimidated Mr Kelleher.