A FATHER and son were found guilty by a jury at Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday of assaulting their cousin with a hammer and knife at a family funeral.
The trial featured the use of new provisions in the criminal law when key witnesses decline to testify against the accused in court.
James Donovan (41) and his son, James “Dolly” Donovan (20), who both live at Fana Glas, Ballybane, Galway, denied assaulting Tom Donovan (46) from Ennistymon, Co Clare, at Mervue church, Galway, on June 29th last year, causing him harm.
Section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 was invoked for the second time ever at a trial in Galway when Tom Donovan told the jury he did not want to press charges or give evidence against his cousins because he had been compensated and he did not want to start a family feud.
Under section 16 of the Act, Mr Donovan’s statement of complaint, made to gardaí just hours after the assault, was read into evidence when he would not give direct evidence at the trial.
In his statement, Mr Donovan said he arrived at the funeral of his uncle Paddy Delaney, who was known as “Old Truthful”. He said James Donovan told him he had some cheek to come to the funeral as he knew he was not welcome.
A row broke out and Dolly Donovan hit him with a hammer on the side of the head while James Donovan “sliced” him in the side a couple of times with a Stanley knife.
Tom Donovan told the jury that while he signed that statement “Tom” as that was the only word he could write, he repeated his wish not to gave any evidence against his cousins.
In reply to Deirdre Browne, defending, Tom Donovan said he was no longer standing over that statement. “We are all the one family and we sorted out the problem ourselves. I don’t want a family feud over this.”
Dolly Donovan told gardaí he arrived at the funeral of his grandfather on his own and he and “Fat Tom” started “fair boxing” but Fat Tom then hit him on the elbow with a hammer. He said he grabbed the hammer and hit Fat Tom. “Young Truthful”, a son of the deceased, broke the fight up and told them to go away.
Dolly Donovan told gardaí he didn’t know who stabbed Fat Tom. “I wouldn’t have the heart to do it. It could have been someone else. He had other enemies there that could have done it,” he said.
The trial was told Dolly Donovan came into the Garda station two days later to change his statement. He said that when Fat Tom came at him with the hammer he took a penknife out of his pocket in self defence and swung it at him. “I was drugged out of it. I had a lot of cannabis smoked and I’d taken 10 to 15 Valium as well,” Dolly told gardaí.
Dolly’s father, James Donovan, gave a statement in which he said he saw Dolly scuffling with Fat Tom and he saw him give him a “bit of a skelp” with a hammer.
“I tried to pull Dolly away but he had something taken. Dolly was still scuffling with Fat Tom. I didn’t hit Tom Donovan. I didn’t stab him either. He thinks I have money. He is a guards’ man. He runs to the guards with everything. I have more to be doing than bothering with him.”
The jury heard a garda arrived at the church car park that day to find Tom Donovan bleeding profusely with his shirt torn.
The jury took just half an hour to find both men guilty of assault.
Judge Raymond Groarke adjourned sentencing in the case of Dolly Donovan to next Wednesday and he adjourned sentencing in his father’s case to a later unspecified date.