Off-duty garda knocked unconscious trying to protect GAA referee

An off-duty detective was knocked unconscious as he tried to protect a referee at an underage Gaelic football match in Co Sligo.

The Detective Garda Chris O'Neill had come to the assistance of the referee who was being verbally abused at the end of a minor match between his club Shamrock Gaels and Owenmore Gaels last Friday at Coola.

While the referee escaped injury, the officer is understood to have been struck at least once and reportedly lost consciousness briefly .

Jerry O’Connor, who is secretary of the Sligo County Board said it was very serious incident and “we would hope that the victim of the assault makes a full recovery”.

Altercation

Mr O'Connor said it appeared there was an altercation at the end of the match and the assault was at "the higher end of the scale. It was certainly pretty vicious", he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

Mr O’Connor said he could not comment on who was involved.

In a statement on its Facebook page Owenmore Gaels said: "Following the minor match in Coola on Friday night September 2nd the club would like to emphasise it does not condone the scenes that followed. We are carrying out our own investigation and are awaiting the findings of the CCC and referees report."

A Garda spokesman said they were investigating an assault on a man in his early 40s at Coola, Sooey, Riverstown, Co Sligo on September 2nd, shortly after 8pm.