A man in his 70s was so badly beaten during an alleged home invasion in Co Sligo that his neighbours did not recognise him walking along the middle of the road covered in blood, a Central Criminal Court trial has heard.
Anna and Fiona Calpin said they only realised it was Tom Niland when he spoke to say he had been “robbed” by three men.
A paramedic also told the court Mr Niland was “crying blood” as a result of the multiple traumatic injuries he sustained to his face and skull.
John Irving (31), of Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo, is on trial accused of breaking into Mr Niland’s house along with Francis Harman (58), of Nephin Court, Killala Road, Ballina, Co Mayo, and John Clarke (37), of Carrowkelly, Ballina, on January 18th, 2022.
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Mr Irving is alleged to have assaulted Mr Niland, leaving him with injuries that caused his death more than 20 months later, on September 30th, 2023. He was 75 when he died.
Mr Irving is accused of unlawfully killing Mr Niland at his home at Doonflynn, Skreen, Co Sligo. He is also accused of entering the house as a trespasser and causing Mr Niland serious harm. He is further alleged to have intentionally or recklessly caused serious harm to Mr Niland and to have falsely imprisoned him. Mr Irving has pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
Anna Calpin told Tony McGillicuddy SC, prosecuting, that she was walking around outside her home opposite Mr Niland’s house with her daughter Fiona when they noticed cars slowing down on the road. They went to see what was happening and saw a man on the road.
“As we approached he was standing in the middle of the road with his hands out in front of him, he couldn’t see anything and we didn’t know who it was,” she said.
“When we got closer to him, the first thing we heard was, ‘I was robbed’, and then we realised it was Tom.”
The witness said Mr Niland’s face was “totally distorted”, his eyes were swollen and shut, and there was a lot of blood. She said he had a runner on one foot and a shoe on the other but neither was laced up.
She recalled Mr Niland telling her his doorbell rang and when he opened the door, three men wearing masks appeared and pushed him into his hallway. He said they took his wallet, which contained €800 or €900.
Ms Calpin brought Mr Niland into her home and called an ambulance and the Garda.
Fiona Calpin said Mr Niland was “unrecognisable” until he spoke.
Anna Calpin’s husband, David Calpin, said he was in his workshop when his daughter came in and said Mr Niland had been “robbed and assaulted”.
Mr Calpin went inside to his neighbour before going across to Mr Niland’s house where he saw blood “running down the glass of the front door”, on the driveway and the road. A pair of tights or nylons lay on the driveway. He said he realised it was a crime scene so he left to wait for gardaí to come.
George Williams, who works in the ambulance service in Co Sligo, told Mr McGillicuddy he went into the Calpin home and saw Mr Niland with a towel wrapped around his head.
When Mr Williams removed the towel, he saw multiple injuries around Mr Niland’s face, head and skull. He said Mr Niland’s eyes were “completely swollen shut and he had the appearance as if he was crying blood.”
Given Mr Niland’s age and the level of trauma, Mr Williams believed the injuries were potentially life threatening so he decided to immediately remove him to an ambulance.
Dr Martin Caldwell told Mr McGillicuddy he was the emergency surgeon on duty at Sligo University Hospital when Mr Niland arrived. He said Mr Niland had suffered “serious and life threatening injuries”.
Scans revealed bleeding to the brain, a fracture to the floor of the orb of the right eye and multiple broken ribs on his right side, the court heard.
Despite the brain injury, doctors decided it was not necessary to send him to the Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for surgery.
Between January 20th and January 26th, Mr Niland made progress and was able to sit on a chair. However, his condition deteriorated at that point and he became more drowsy. He required a ventilator to help him breathe and doctors decided to place him on life support in the intensive care unit.
By early March, he had made no progress, Dr Caldwell said, and a consultant neurologist took over his care.
Another witness, John Scott, told Mr McGillicuddy he was part of a group of kayakers who were heading out on Lough Easkey in Co Sligo four days after the assault on Mr Niland.
As he was placing a kayak into the water, he said he noticed something unusually square under a couple of inches of water by the side of the lake.
When he took it from the water he realised it was a wallet. He phoned a friend who is a garda and told him the name Tom Niland was on the ID inside the wallet. He said he did not know the significance of it at the time, but about one hour later, Garda Elaine McAndrew arrived at Lough Easkey and took possession of the wallet.
The trial continues before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of eight women and four men.
