Barman pleads self defence in Mayo manslaughter case
A 60-year-old man suffered traumatic brain injury when he hit the ground after being propelled backwards with a single blow to the face, the Circuit Criminal Court, sitting in Castlebar, was told.
As a result of the death in September 2023 of Peter McDermott, Murrisk, Westport, Vincent James (Jimmy) Connolly is standing trial on a single count of unlawful killing.
Connolly (28), originally from Roscommon, was bar manager at Hewetson’s Pub, Westport, at the time of the incident.
He denies manslaughter, claiming he was defending himself when attacked by the deceased outside The Clock Tavern at Hill Street, Westport, in the early hours of September 10, 2023.
Opening the case before Judge Eoin Garavan and a jury at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, counsel for the State, Ms. Patricia McLoughlin SC said the initial contact was when Mr. McDermott lunged towards Connolly and then knocked him to the ground.
Thereafter, Connolly struck McDermott with a blow to the face and he was immediately propelled backwards and fell on the ground and fell on the ground and suffered injuries which he didn’t recover from.
Ms. McLoughlin said the defence contended Connolly acted in self defence but the prosecution maintained that it was an unlawful assault and that the accused intended to cause more than trivial injury.
Briefly outlining further the circumstances of the incident Ms. McLoughlin explained that after falling back Mr. McDermott fell back and his head hit the pavement.
He was treated at the scene before being brought by ambulance to Mayo University Hospital, Castlebar, where he died later.
Ms. McLoughlin explained that Mr. McDermott, originally from Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim, came from a large family of nine children.
Married with one daughter, he had worked in the construction industry in London and New York before returning to Ireland in 2015 to live with his wife and daughter in a house which he built in Murrisk.
Michael Mulroy, who was accompanying the accused at the time of the alleged assault, testified that Mr. McDermott, whom they had never met, charged at ‘Jimmy’ in “what seemed like a rugby tackle” before striking him.
Cross-examined by defence counsel Mr. Dean Kelly S.C., witness said Mr. McDermott was walking first then took a darting run.
“He was raging, an angry man. He wanted to create pain. He wanted to take it out on someone. You could see it in his eyes. It was like he was out of his head.”
Other witnesses to the incident who gave evidence included Martin Roche from London who had been attending a family wedding.
He said a tall, strong man (McDermott) lunged at the smaller man (Connolly) punching him from behind, out of the blue before the accused responded with a reflex thump.
A further eyewitness, Emma Pitt, gave evidence that Jimmy retaliated after he was punched and the older man hit his head on the pavement after stumbling backwards.
The trial is continuing.