Barman claims self defence in Mayo manslaughter trial

A BARMAN accused of the manslaughter of a 60-year-old man in a Mayo town was acting in self defence when he swung a punch at him, according to a witness in the trial.

Vincent 'Jimmy' Connolly of Cedar Hill, Westport is currently on trial after he pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Peter McDermott who died from a head injury sustained in a fall outside the Clock Tavern on High Street, Westport in the early hours of September 9, 2023.

Mr McDermott of Marino Lodge, Murrisk, Westport died in Mayo University Hospital on September 10, 2023 as a subsequent post mortem found the cause of death was due to a traumatic head injury caused by a propelled fall.

Mr McDermott, a native of Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, was a married father of one daughter who had moved to the Westport area around 2015 having worked in construction in London and New York.

The trial before Judge Eoin Garavan, which started yesterday morning in Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, heard evidence from people who had been outside the Clock Tavern when the incident took place at approximately 1.30am.

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A large crowd had been in the pub to attend a charity event and listen to The Bible Code Sundays band who had travelled from England to play at the event.

Michael Mulroy told the jury that he attended the event and left the Clock Tavern along with Mr Connolly to go for a drink in Henehan's late bar located on Bridge Street.

He explained that as they headed towards Bridge Street a man came towards them and all of a sudden he charged and attacked Mr Connolly knocking him to the ground.

Mr Mulroy said no words were exchanged between them and he did not know who the other man was. He claimed that the man then squared up to Mr Connolly after he got off the ground and that Mr Connolly hit him with a 'slap' which knocked the man over and he hit his head.

Mr Mulroy said the whole incident happened 'in a couple of seconds' and described the impact with Mr McDermott's head as 'quite a bang'.

When questioned by Mr Dean Kelly, senior counsel for Mr Connolly, Mr Mulroy said he believed the only reason Mr Connolly was attacked was that he was smaller than he was and he felt he was lucky he was not knocked over.

“He was out to do damage you could see in his eyes, he was raging,” Mr Mulroy said of Mr McDermott.

“It looked like he wanted to pick a fight with anyone. It was not a stumble, it was a charge with intent to harm,” he added.

Mr Mulroy described the defendant as a 'gentle soul' who would not go out of his way to hit anyone.

“It is not in Jimmy's nature to fight...Everyone who saw it knows it was self defence,” Mr Mulroy said.

The court heard that Mr Connolly, a native of Co Roscommon, has lived in the Westport region for the last number of years and was well liked in the pub trade in the town. He worked as a bar man in Westport and is currently the bar manager of Heweston's Bar on Bridge Street.

Trial of Vincent Connolly is taking place in Castlebar Courthouse

On September 8, he had been at a wedding in the Westport Country Lodge in Aughagower but left at around midnight to attend a charity event in the Clock Tavern.

Mr McDermott, the jury was told, arrived in Westport on his own just before 10pm and had been drinking in the Grainstore pub and JJ O'Malley's on Bridge Street.

Michael Henehan of Henehan's Late Bar gave evidence that he refused entry to Mr McDermott around midnight as he felt he was too intoxicated. He claimed that Mr McDermott told him he was a 'gentle giant' and would be no problem to them but added he took this to be said in a menacing manner.

Mr Henehan said that Mr McDermott arrived around an hour later and claimed that he 'tried to go through me to enter' but was refused entry. He claimed that the situation was escalating towards violence and that Mr McDermott threatened him and was verbally abusive.

Mr Henehan told the jury that but for a bystander standing between Mr McDermott and himself there would have been a 'physical conflict'. 

Evidence was also given by bystanders who were outside the Clock Tavern at the time of the incident.

Maeve Mulchrone explained that she travelled to Westport from the UK to attend a family wedding and had been socialising in the Clock Tavern with relatives and family members.

She said she had not been drinking that night and was waiting for a taxi outside when she heard noise behind her which made her turn around.

She described seeing Mr Connolly hit Mr McDermott with an open hand across the face which knocked him straight onto the ground. She said she could hear a crack as he hit the ground.

Ms Mulchrone said she was a medical student at the time and offered assistance to Mr McDermott as he lay unconscious on the ground. She said there was blood coming from his head and he was unresponsive to light in his eyes.

The jury was told that people on the scene also came to assist Mr McDermott and CPR was administered and it took up to 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

When questioned by Mr Kelly, Ms Mulchrone accepted that there seemed to be no force or violence to the assault by Mr Connolly and she reiterated that it was more like a slap than a punch.

She also said that Mr Connolly was in shock and concerned for Mr McDermott and the court heard he placed his suit jacket under his head and stayed at the scene until the gardaí arrived.

In his evidence, Jack Garvin said that it appeared that Mr McDermott did not brace himself for the fall and hit his head on the concrete.

Another witness, Sinéad Dalton told Ms Patricia McLoughlin, senior counsel for the prosecution, that she heard a loud crack after Mr McDermott fell. She said she later asked Mr Connolly why he punched him and she said he replied that it was 'just a reaction'.

The trial continues in Castlebar Courthouse.