A man has been arrested for questioning over the alleged assault of a boy in the southwest of the country last year.
The suspect, who is well known in GAA circles nationally, was detained on Monday, some five months after the alleged violent incident.
It is understood the injured boy, aged 12, was in a vacant property when the alleged assault occurred. The scene was examined at the time and a statement was taken from the child.
The boy received hospital treatment at the time for serious, but non-life threatening, injuries and a criminal investigation immediately began. That inquiry has been ongoing since and resulted in the arrest of a suspect on Monday.
Breda O'Brien: Something has gone wrong in our culture when people opt for ‘fur babies’ over real babies
How a man described as ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’ came to dominate global trade policy
Morrissey at the 3Arena review: Singer folds in four Smiths songs over chimeric evening
David McWilliams: Ireland’s extraordinary education revolution laid bare by two new reports
Investigating gardaí put a number of findings in their investigation to date to the man during questioning and he has since been released, with a file being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions on the case.
The former GAA player (40s) was detained at a garda station in the region where the alleged assault occurred under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, allowing for him to be questioned by up to 24 hours without charge.
“He has since been released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,” a Garda statement said.
It added that the investigation was continuing and the force appealed to “anyone with any information in relation to this incident” to come forward.
- See our new project Common Ground, Evolving Islands: Ireland & Britain
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here
