Cousins appear on Belturbet assault charges

Two cousins who were on a stag night in Belturbet earlier this year appeared before a special sitting of Ballyconnell District Court charged with assaulting two young men from Redhills. John Kearney, 12 Rosapenna Drive, Belfast, was charged that on March 8 at Corporation Lands, Belturbet, he assaulted Noel Brady. He was also charged with two counts of public order offences. Michael Kearney, Leenankiel, Clonmany, Donegal, was charged with assaulting Ciaran Kelly on the same occasion as well as two counts of public order offences. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Noel Brady said he and some friends met in Redhills and later headed for Belturbet. They had a few drinks in Maguire"s in Redhills and then went to the Diamond Bar in Belturbet and had a few more before heading for the Mad Ass. While they were in the Diamond Bar some of them went out for a cigarette. Tried to get in A group of lads came around the corner and tried to get in. The owner of the bar said they were not getting in and they argued for a few minutes. Witness told them to go either to the Mad Ass or Widows Bar and they would get in. Witness and his friend headed for the Mad Ass after the Diamond Bar. In the Mad Ass there was a bit of a confrontation with the other lads and witness left after that. He had no recollection of what happened after that. The group they met in the Mad Ass were the same group who were trying to get into the Diamond Bar. They were from Donegal and were on a stag night. The next thing witness remembers is walking up in hospital. He had a broken nose, teeth, bruising and at one stage the doctor thought his neck was broken and he was put in a neck brace. He was in hospital for three days. Cross-examined by defending solicitor Mr. Damien Rudden, witness said he was with his brother James, Kieran Kelly, and Kevin McKiernan. He had two or four pints in Maguire"s, two or three in the Diamond and two or three in the Mad Ass. He was at the door of the Diamond Bar when John Kearney was refused entry. There were words between them and some of the lads from Donegal in the Mad Ass. He didn"t know what happened after the Mad Ass but it appeared he had a difference with his brother James. Witness could not recall John Kearney lifting James off him (witness) nor could he recall blood on his face when he was on the street. Kieran Kelly corroborated and added that when Noel was leaving the Mad Ass he went with him. There was a bit of pushing and shoving with a group of lads. James also came out and took Noel up the street. Two lads went up the street after Noel. Noel and James were standing in a doorway. Others came along and Noel and James could not get out of the doorway. Witness was standing between Noel and James and the others when it all 'kicked off'. A few boxes were thrown. One of the lads from the other group had a T-shirt torn. It settled down a bit and witness took Noel across the street. Noel was talking to one of the defendants when another of the Donegal lads came over told his friend that Noel had hit his (defendant"s) brother-in-law. The defendant wanted to fight Noel. Mr. Kelly got Noel and James, who had arrived, away into the car park across the road from the Seven Horseshoes. They were followed into the car and the man who wanted to fight Noel hit him a box. Witness pushed the him away and other man hit him (witness). Noel fell to the ground and witness grabbed the man who hit him by the waist and he swung witness around. Curled into a ball Witness fell to the ground and curled up into a ball and covered his head. Those who followed them into the car park began kicking him. One of them started pulling them away and they ran off. When witness got up Noel was lying unconscious on the ground. There was a pool of blood around his head. Witness rang for an ambulance. The gardaí arrived soon after and they went looking for the others. Prior to the incident Noel and James did have an argument. Mr. Kelly described to the gardaí what the two defendants were wearing on the night. He could not identify the person who assaulted him in court but he could identify the person who assaulted Noel. Replying to Mr. Rudden, witness said he had about seven pints to drink during the course of the night. All he wanted to do was stop rows starting. James did push Noel and he fell to the ground and James was on top of him. He didn"t see James punch Noel while he was on the ground. The man who hit Noel also pulled James off Noel. James Brady corroborated and added there was a scuffle in the car park and he fell to the ground. Noel was hit but he didn"t see who hit him. When he got up he ran to the garda station. When he got back to the car park Noel was up against a wall. Cross-examined by Mr. Rudden, witness said he and Noel were surrounded by three or four lads in a doorway. There was a lot of shouting. He admitted he put Noel on the ground because he was getting annoyed and agitated. Witness tried to calm him down and denied he punched Noel while he was on the ground. Garda Gerard Butler said he and Garda Rachel Duignan went to the scene of the assaults and Noel Brady"s face was covered in blood. They spoke to Ciaran Kelly, who gave them a description of the two culprits involved in the assault. Later they came across two males matching the description given to Ciaran Kelly and arrested them. The men were taken to Cavan Garda Station. John Kearney was interviewed on three occasions and denied he had a dispute with anyone or was involved in a scuffle or a row. Michael Kearney said he never saw any row. In the third interview with John he claimed no one told him that Noel had hit his brother-in-law. He agreed that Noel and his brother were fighting and that Noel claimed it was a 'family thing'. Michael Kearney denied his involvement. Garda Butler gathered CCTV footage from the chemist, which was shown in court. He also seized the clothing both defendants were wearing. Both defendants were 120/130 yards away from the scene when they were arrested. Replying to Mr. Rudden, witness said there was no blood on the clothing. Judge Conal Gibbons adjourned the proceeding to Ballyconnell District Court on July 14 so that a date could be fixed to hear the defence case.