Former All-Star hurler Niall Gilligan is on trial, accused of assaulting a 12-year-old boy in October 2023. The jury heard on Wednesday that Gilligan allegedly “whacked” the boy on the leg with a stick.
At Ennis Circuit Court, State counsel Sarah Jane Comerford BL outlined the prosecution’s case against Mr. Gilligan, 48, from Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge, in her opening statement.
Gilligan denies the charge of assault causing harm.
The alleged incident occurred on October 5, 2023, when the 12-year-old and a 13-year-old friend entered the Jamaica Inn hostel in Sixmilebridge, believing it to be abandoned, Comerford stated.
“They were exploring the building when the accused, Niall Gilligan, who owned the property at the time, arrived to check on it,” she said.
The jury heard that the property had been vandalized and broken into in the days leading up to the alleged assault.
Comerford stated that the boys were outside the property when they saw Gilligan.
According to counsel, the boys ran when they saw Gilligan. The 12-year-old will testify that “he slipped in a puddle and the accused came up behind him and whacked him on the leg with a stick and the accused kept hitting him in the leg, his ribs, his hip, his elbow and his hand”.
The jury will hear medical evidence and see photos documenting the boy’s injuries, including bruising and cuts, Comerford explained. The boy will claim these injuries were a result of being struck with a wooden stick by Gilligan.
The boy will also testify that after the alleged assault, Gilligan grabbed him by the jacket, took him to the road, and questioned him about his name and father, the court heard.
The boy will tell the jury “that he sat on a wall for a while because he has asthma and could barely breathe”.
The 13-year-old friend will corroborate the story, stating he saw Gilligan outside the Jamaica Inn and ran, managing to escape.
According to Comerford, the 13-year-old will say he heard screaming from his friend “and he waited in an industrial estate beside the property and while he was relatively safe there, he was still very scared”.
A few minutes later, the 13-year-old met up with his injured friend “and let him lean on him while his friend tried to walk home”.
Comerford (instructed by State Solicitor for Clare Aisling Casey) stated that the injured boy was taken to a local VHI clinic and then University Hospital Limerick for treatment, where gardaí were alerted.
Gilligan denies assaulting the boy with a wooden stick and has pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm, Comerford confirmed.
Gilligan also denies producing a wooden stick capable of inflicting serious injury during a dispute.
The trial is ongoing.
