Laois GAA star ‘serious’ after ‘punch assault’
Arrest made over ‘attack’ on footballer
A MAN has been arrested over an incident in which a GAA star was allegedly punched in the back of the head – leaving him in a serious condition in hospital.
It’s understood that Laois county footballer Daniel O’Reilly was assaulted by a number of people while he was waiting for a taxi after a night out in Carlow town.
He suffered a number of fractures to his skull and is in a serious but stable condition in hospital. A man was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act yesterday afternoon in Carlow in relation to the incident.
A source close to the Laois football team told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘It’s a very unfortunate incident and my heart goes out to his friends. It was a punch to the back of the head the young man received and I understand he fell over and may have banged his head.
‘It’s a dreadful call for any parent to receive in the early hours of the morning that their child is on the way to hospital.
‘It’s not fair and it doesn’t matter what age the young man is – he didn’t deserve this,’
Mr O’Reilly, who is aged in his 20s and from Graiguecullen, was in the Potato Market area of Carlow town shortly after 1am on Monday morning when the alleged attack occurred.
The talented footballer had featured as a second-half substitute in his county’s win in the final of Division 4 of the Allianz Football League against Carlow on Saturday in Croke Park. In a statement, Laois GAA said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and his club that he will make a full recovery. We are in contact with them and providing any support possible and ask you to allow them privacy at this time.’
Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan, a Laois TD, called for anyone with information to contact gardaí, and said the ‘perpetrators must be brought to justice’. He also offered his support to Mr O’Reilly’s family ‘at this time of challenge’.
A Garda statement said: ‘Gardaí in Carlow attended the scene of an incident at the Potato Market, Carlow. A male in his early 20s sustained serious head injuries during an altercation involving a number of people shortly after 1am. The injured man was removed to St Luke’s General Hospital, Kilkenny, where his condition is understood to be serious.’
Gardaí later confirmed they had made an arrest. Officers in Carlow are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 059 9136620, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
‘Must be brought to justice’
THE rise in violent, one-punch assaults has become a disturbing criminal phenomenon in this country in recent years. Fuelled by alcohol and male aggression it has resulted in some instances in serious injury while in others it has led to the death of the person who was randomly attacked.
Eugene Moloney, a 55-year-old journalist who worked for this newspaper, tragically lost his life in this horrific manner as he made his way home from a night out in Dublin in the summer of 2012.
Now Daniel O’Reilly, a Laois GAA player and a fine young athlete in the prime of his life, lies in hospital in a serious condition after being brutally punched in the back of the head while he waited for a taxi home.
Such an assault, even by way of a single punch, can cause catastrophic injury and such incidents must be seen for the scourge that they have become.
For such random attacks are not, in effect, truly random at all. Rather, they reflect a disquieting pattern that is now part of a growing culture that simply cannot be tolerated in a civilised society.