A 26-YEAR-OLD man remained on life-support in hospital last night after being assaulted in Ennis on St Stephen’s Day.
Two men, an uncle and his nephew, aged 29 and 22, were arrested at 7am yesterday regarding the incident, which, it is understood, was captured on CCTV. A 38-year-old woman, a relative of the two men, was arrested at her home near Ennis last night in connection with the incident and taken to Shannon Garda station for questioning.
She is being detained under the provisions of Section 30 Offences Against the State Act 1939 for allegedly withholding information.
The victim, named locally as Brian Casey, is from Lissycasey, about 18km from Ennis.
He sustained a fractured skull and internal bleeding in the incident.
The victim had travelled to Ennis with friends for a night out. The attack took place shortly before midnight at O’Connell Square in the town, an area known locally as The Height.
It is understood that the older of the two attackers struck the victim as he walked past, sending him stumbling in to the road. The second assailant jumped on the man and beat him.
It is understood that there was a large group of young people in the area at the time.
An ambulance was sent to the scene, while a rapid response advanced paramedic unit, specialising in the provision of advanced life support, attended the scene.
The injured man was rushed to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where an emergency medical team was standing by.
Doctors carried out scans and X-rays which were sent electronically to specialists at Cork University Hospital.
It is believed that the victim sustained a fracture to the back of his head, and several “brain bleeds”.
Soon after the attack, gardaí arrested two suspects under the Public Order Act.
It is understood that the incident was recorded on CCTV, which was only introduced in Ennis earlier this year.
The older of the suspects, who are both from Ennis town, has previously appeared in court for minor offences.
Family members remained by the victim’s bedside yesterday while they waited for the man’s sister to return from Chicago in the US.
She had been informed of the incident and was trying to get a flight to Ireland.
Gardaí carried out a technical examination of the scene while officers where examining the CCTV footage in an attempt to piece together the movements of the victim and his attackers prior to and after the incident.
Gardaí have also appealed to anybody who was in the O’Connell Street-O’Connell Square area shortly before midnight on Saturday to contact them if they witnessed anything or have any information.
Ennis station can be reached at 065 6848100.