Publican fined over fight
FRIENDS OUT CELEBRATING ST PATRICK’S DAY ENDED UP BEING SERIOUSLY ASSAULTED IN UNPROVOKED ATTACK WITH GIRL HOSPITALISED WITH BROKEN NOSE
A student nurse out celebrating her 18th birthday on St Patrick’s Day ended up being headbutted and kicked on the ground in two unprovoked attacks which broke her nose and required her to be hospitalised. Sligo District Court on Thursday heard
Saoirse O’Dowd and four of her friends Lorraine Carolan, Rachel Tennison, Eimear O’Sullivan and Cathal Coyle were all assaulted on March 17 th 2017 at the Leitrim Bar, The Mall.
Conor McEniff (47), the pub’s licensee, was convicted and fined €300 for permitting disorderly conduct on the premises.
Charges relating to having persons under 18 on the premises, permitting consumption of alcohol to people under 18 and also not having a public dance licence were all dismissed.
Sergeant Gerard Mullaney told the court that he had received a complaint in relation to the assault on Saturday, March 18th. The court was told that CCTV in the bar had broken a few days beforehand. There were two doormen and three bar staff working on the night.
Saoirse O’Dowd in her evidence said that earlier in the day she watched the St Patrick’s Day parade in Ballymote and that evening took the train to Sligo with her friends and in town she met up with more of her school friends. They went to the Leitrim Bar at 8pm and were all enjoying the evening as they hadn’t seen each other for awhile.
They were on the dancefloor when one of her friends, Lorraine Carolan backed into a girl. Ms O’Dowd said she then noticed two girls staring at them before suddenly she felt she was being pulled by her hair onto the floor where she was being hit in the face by a group of people. The only way she could defend herself was to curl into a ball.
Nobody came to help and eventually her brother and friends helped her to the bathroom. Her cheeks were embedded in her braces and her face was swollen. Her school friends were there to see if she was okay and they went out into the corridor where they met two guys. One asked if they were the girls who started on his girlfriend.
“They grabbed Eimear and headbutted her and punched me and broke my nose. There was no one to help, my nose was pouting blood,” she said.
Ms O’Dowd said they were trying to leave through the fire escape which led to the deck where two girls approached her and one said she was a paramedic and told Ms O’Dowd to lie on the floor. A bouncer was there and a barmaid then drove her to the hospital where she was admitted and required two surgeries on her nose and was in hospital until March 19 th. Inspector Donal Sweeney asked if she felt safe in the premises and she replied not one bit.
In her evidence Lorraine Carolan, also a student nurse, said the first incident began when she stepped back on the toe and bumped into a girl.
They were giving threatening looks and all of a sudden Saoirse was pulled to the ground by the hair and there were people kicking her. Ms Carolan said she tried to pull her off the ground when she was kicked and shoved in the ribs and there were girls trying to pull her hair.
She said there was a lot of commotion and she grabbed Saoirse and lifted her up where she was brought to the toilet to try and clean her up. A bouncer came in and Ms Carolan then left with him to see if she could see those involved but she couldn’t see them and went back into the toilet.
When they left the toilet and went along the long corridor two guys approached them and then headbutted Eimear while Saoirse was punched in the face.
They went out the fire escape and met two girls who helped and a bouncer with her and Saoirse was then brought to hospital by the barmaid, she said. She stayed with Saoirse in hospital until her parents came. Inspector Sweeney asked if anyone came to their aid and she said no. She said she saw one bouncer on the door and another one that came into the toilet to see if the assailants could be identified.
Mr Keith O’Grady BL (defending) instructed by McGovern&Walsh solicitors said that his client was deeply upset that anyone got injured on his premises. He said to Ms Carolan that everyone was out enjoying St Patrick’s Day when out of nowhere these thugs assaulted them. He asked if they were given assistance by the two bouncers and staff and she replied eventually yes.
Another friend Rachel Tennison also said an incident broke out on the dancefloor with Lorraine being shoved into a wall and that it was unprovoked with Saoirse being pulled to the ground with people attacking her and Eimear being grabbed by the hair and being hit in the jaw and chest.
She told Eimear she thought she had lost a tooth and they went into the bathroom when Saoirse and Lorraine came in with Saoirse bleeding from the mouth and nose. She said when the second attack happened she was left in the bathroom with her friend Chloe and was too frightened to leave.
She later found out from Saoirse’s friends from Ballymote that she had been brought to A&E. Inspector Sweeney asked Ms Tennison if she felt there was adequate security and she said she didn’t feel safe.
In her evidence Eimear O’Sullivan said she went to help Rachel after the first incident as she was worried about her teeth. She was kicked in the chest during the assault and then went into the bathroom with the other girls. She said when in the hallway the two guys attacked them, she was grabbed by the neck and headbutted and she ran into the bathroom crying and hid in a bathroom stall. She eventually went out and found Saoirse in the smoking area on the ground.
A woman told her she was bringing her to hospital. She went outside with Lorraine and as they feared the group of attackers were further up the hill she grabbed Lorraine and told her to run to their car. Judge Kilrane asked if any patrons intervened and she said no.
Another friend Cathal Coyle in his evidence said he didn’t see the first altercation happen only that he saw Saoirse on the ground and she was brought to the bathroom as she was bleeding.
He said a female staff member came in and told the lads to leave the toilet and he was the only lad who remained. He then saw Eimear getting headbutted and got in between Eimear and the other guy when another guy came up behind him. He said a male bouncer then threw the two lads out. Inspector Sweeney asked what his injuries were and he said a busted lip and swelling and bruising. He said he only saw the tail end of the first incident when he saw Saoirse lying on the ground.
Mr O’Grady said that what happened was an unprovoked attack and when the fight began it was brought to the attention of one of the bouncers who searched for the assailants with one of the complainants.
He said there was no evidence his client Mr McEniff had permitted disorderly conduct. He said if he was convicted then every time an assault takes place on a premises prosecutions and convictions must follow. He said the assailants were known trouble makers.
He said Mr McEniff came from the McEniff hotelier family in Bundoran and most of his siblings were in the trade. He decided to invest in Sligo 19 years ago and employs local staff in the Leitrim Bar which is managed by Alan O’Reilly. Mr McEniff told the court the Monday previous to St Patrick’s Day the CCTV was not working and the company to fix it was contacted. On the Thursday a technician said the harddrive couldn’t be fixed and there was no spare and one was ordered for the following week.
There were two High Court cases arising out of the night and said McEniff ’s insurance was null and void when CCTV was not working. He told the court his doormen are all licensed and fully trained. There were two doormen and three bar staff working on the night.
Mr McEniff said he was very upset about the girls being injured on the premises.
He had been there earlier in the evening but had to leave to go to Bundoran. He said Mr O’Reilly was checking all the IDs coming through the door. He said for the 150 people or so who were there he thought there was adequate staff on as it was a small enough area with only one of three floors being open.
Inspector Sweeney brought it to the court’s attention that Mr McEniff had been convicted and fined €800 for permitting disorderly conduct in 2006 at Ballyshannon District Court and he said it was in relation to Fusion nightclub in Bundoran. He said to Mr McEniff that he heard from five people who were all assaulted on his premises and all of whom said they did not feel safe.
He said Saoirse O’Dowd was the victim of a serious assault and said not one person came to her aid. Inspector Sweeney said the assault outside the toilet should not have taken place adding the biggest problem surrounded the CCTV, adding that red lights should have been flashing knowing St Patrick’s Day was coming up. Mr McEniff said it wasn’t known the CCTV couldn’t be fixed until the day before.
Alan O’Reilly, manager, was asked about people dancing on the pool table which was alleged by the five witnesses and he said it’s policy to tell anyone doing so to stop and that he didn’t remember people dancing on the pool table on the day.
He said Ms O’Dowd came out to him and said she was assaulted by two girls and he noticed blood on her lip. He asked if she could see the people in the pub and she couldn’t. He said he also asked if they wanted to leave and they said they wanted to stay. He told them to let him know if they spotted the girls.
Mr O’Grady asked when he became aware of the second assault and he said that one of the barmaids told him there was a girl lying out the back.
Two men were later evicted from the premises he said. Inspector Sweeney asked if Mr O’Reilly believed there was adequate security in place and he said yes.
The Inspector then said yet five people were assaulted some seriously and the bouncers did nothing to help. He asked Mr O’Reilly at what stage did he come in from the front door and he said when Ms O’Dowd told him. Inspector Sweeney said it was a sad indictment of his premises that a person assaulted had to go to the bouncer outside. The Inspector asked where the other bouncer was and Mr O’Reilly replied doing duties inside to which Inspector Sweeney said ‘not very well’.
John Gaynor, the other bouncer working, said he was busy collecting glasses, surveying the smoking area, toilets and making sure no one was getting in from the back of the premises. He said he didn’t see the first assault but walked around with one of the girls to see if they could find the assailants.
At the conclusion of the evidence Judge Kilrane said he was going to convict in respect of permitting disorderly conduct he was going to convict.
“The position unfortunately was that the perfect storm was created, St Patrick’s Day we all know what happens. Disco music attracts young people and a lot of alcohol is consumed with people out since an early hour. Spirits were high and there was music playing.”
The premises in question is a lively premises he said and that required careful supervision surrounding young people and alcohol he said.
The judge said a serious row took place on the dance floor where one person bumped into another. A serious row erupted where one girl was dragged to the floor, kicked, bruised and battered. None of the security staff saw the incident occur at all. He said he took Mr O’Grady’s point that it happened out of the blue, that no one could see it happen. He said it takes great awareness to supervise premises with people dancing and so forth.
He said the problem arises with the second assault where the parties emerged from the premises battered and bruised. He said that although a search had been made for the villains from the first incident he asked if the girls were abandoned.
He said what was known was the two fellows in the second assault were associates of the other assailants. Everyone was attacked again one seriously and requiring hospitalisation and that gives rise to the premises not being properly conducted on the night.
If the first assault had been taken more seriously the girls should have been protected with not just a search for the people but a heightened awareness that it could happen again.
The judge said Mr McEniff does operate a reasonably good premises, CCTV was not working but he appreciated that can happen, he added.
He fined him €300.