News
Jury finds man not guilty of glass attack
A Galway jury may have set a new record by returning a unanimous verdict just nine minutes after it had retired to deliberate on evidence given during a two-day assault trial.
The four women and eight men were sent out to deliberate at 3.38pm and pressed the buzzer in the jury room nine minutes later, indicating they had reached a unanimous verdict, finding Eamon McDonagh (26), of 19 Sliabh Rua, Ballybane, not guilty of a single charge of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Dominic Downes at Glenbaun, Ballybane on June 1, 2014, contrary to Section 4 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
Downes lost the sight in his left eye after he was stabbed repeatedly with a broken bottle during an altercation between two gangs of youths but the jury did not accept his evidence that he recognised his attacker.
McDonagh denied the charge and his trial commenced last week at Galway Circuit Criminal Court.
Mr Garnet Orange, SC, defending, told the jury McDonagh had celebrated his birthday the previous night and he had been at home on the night the attack took place.
Prosecuting barrister, Conor Fahy told the jury it was the State’s case McDonagh had stuck a broken bottle into Downes’ eye a number of times during a fight.
McDonagh did so intentionally and he had acted recklessly, he added.
The trial heard Downes and others had been drinking heavily in town on May 31, 2014, before returning to Daniel Barry’s house at 15 Glenbaun, Ballybane that night.
They continued drinking there but Downes left the house at one point and assaulted a youth nearby before returning to the house.
Barry went missing from the house a short time later and his mother sent Downes and two other youths out to look for him.
There was a lot of “activity” going on outside in the general Ballybane area that night with people jostling and fighting each other, the court was told.
Downes said they met a gang coming towards them. He said he recognised Eamon McDonagh in the gang.
He turned with the others and tried to run back to Barry’s house but the gang caught up with them.
Downes said Eamon McDonagh wanted to know who had assaulted the youth earlier and one of the other youths pointed him out.
Downes said he told McDonagh he wanted a “fair fight” and they started to swing at each other.
Downes told the jury he was a good boxer and he was getting the better of McDonagh in the fight.
Someone then jumped him from behind and he was held down. McDonagh, he said, came at him with the broken bottle.
“I seen him coming at me and stabbing me in the face,” he told the jury.
During cross-examination, Downes told Mr Orange he never carried a knife but later admitted he carried a knife for protection.
He said he didn’t know McDonagh that well but said he recognised him. He admitted being involved in other violent incidents himself involving other people.
Sgt. Shaun Durkan told the trial Downes was reluctant to make a statement of complaint initially but finally did so last January. He said no witnesses came forward to offer any independent evidence even though other youths were present at the time of the attack.
He agreed during cross examination by Mr Orange that there were no witnesses, no phone records and no CCTV – which would link his client to the attack.
In his closing speech to the jury, Judge Rory McCabe asked jurors if they could rely on Downes’ evidence.
He said it was the State’s case McDonagh intentionally stabbed Downes in the eye and that he had lost his sight in that eye as a result of the assault.
However, he said, there were no witnesses, no phone records or no CCTV linking the defendant to the assault.
The victim, he said, had a history of violence and he admitted carrying a knife.
“And what opportunity did he have to recognise the accused? We’ve heard there was a lot going on that night and a lot of drink taken.
“The difficulty you have is can you rely on the evidence of the victim? There’s no doubt the injuries that were sustained amount to serious harm.
“The real issue is does the evidence prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this harm was caused by the accused man?,” Judge McCabe cautioned.
McDonagh, who had been held on remand at Castlerea Prison prior to the trial, walked free from court with members of his family seconds after the jury acquitted him.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
