A former garda injured when he intervened to stop fighting outside Longford Garda station, during which a slash hook, machete and hammer were produced, received £18,715 from the High Court yesterday. Mr Justice Budd was told the weapons were produced on September 2nd, 1995, by a woman who urged her husband to use them in what was a long-standing feud between settled families.
The award was to Mr Brendan Gilmore for injuries to his neck and back and for psychological damage. The judge described the disturbance as a frightening experience involving the "most ferocious weaponry".
In another case, Sgt Oliver Smyth, a former goalkeeper with the Meath football team, was awarded £17,250 for face and wrist injuries sustained when he was attacked while making an arrest outside a pub in Slane, Co Meath.