A bar manager has been cleared of manslaughter over a one-punch strike to a man who fell backwards and sustained a traumatic brain injury from which he later died.
Clutching rosary beads in Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday, Vincent (Jimmy) Connolly (28), of Cedar Hill, Westport, Co Mayo, wept uncontrollably after a jury unanimously found him not guilty of unlawfully killing Peter McDermott (60) outside The Clock Tavern on Hill Street, in Westport, in the early hours of September 10th, 2023.
Mr McDermott, from Murrisk, Westport, was taken to hospital and put on life support, but he died the afternoon of September 11th.
The court heard Mr McDermott, from Murrisk, Westport, had knocked Mr Connolly to the ground before Mr Connolly returned with the punch.
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The men did not know each other, and the trial heard both had been drinking heavily before the event.
Judge Eoin Garavan described the event as an “appalling tragedy for both families”.
Following the unanimous verdict, Judge Garavan told the accused: “Mr Connolly, you have been cleared by the jury. You are innocent. You remain an innocent man.”
The judge went on to say that whatever happened on the night, Mr McDermott had been “a hardworking, decent, honourable, gentleman” whose incalculable loss had left his family entirely bereft.
Similar compliments were expressed about Mr Connolly during the course of the hearing, Judge Garavan noted.
During the trial, the court heard Mr Connolly had been in The Clock Tavern at a charity event with a friend, after attending a wedding at Westport Country Lodge.
Mr McDermott, who had been drinking in several bars, was agitated and argumentative after being refused entry to a pub, the court heard.
The initial contact was a lunge by Mr McDermott towards Mr Connolly, jurors were told. Mr McDermott knocked him to the ground before Mr Connolly returned with a blow to the face.
Mr McDermott was propelled backwards, fell to the ground and suffered injuries from which he did not recover.
The defence argued Mr Connolly acted in self-defence, while the prosecution maintained it was an unlawful assault with which the accused intended to cause more than a trivial injury.
Closing the case on behalf of the prosecution, senior counsel Patricia McLoughlin said video footage showed Mr McDermott push the accused, which should never have happened.
She said Mr McDermott had been pushing Mr Connolly to get him out of the way or get through him.
She contended that, once he stood up, Mr Connolly’s demeanour was aggressive towards Mr McDermott.
“You can see from his body language that he was angry, was remonstrating with Mr McDermott and ultimately he hit a punch,” she said.
He was the “clear aggressor” once he stood up and confronted Mr McDermott, she said, submitting that manslaughter was proved in all the circumstances.
In his closing submission, Dean Kelly, senior counsel for the defence, rejected the prosecution’s suggestion that Mr McDermott was walking away when Mr Connolly was on the ground.
Mr Kelly said the contention was “preposterous” and not backed up by the footage.
Mr Kelly said nobody was alleging Mr McDermott was a hooligan or a thug and it appeared to be beyond question that he was a man who worked hard all his life.
What is beyond doubt is that for 10 minutes or perhaps an hour on the night, Mr McDermott departed from his ordinary mode of conduct for some reason, he said.
Counsel said Mr Connolly believed there was an immediate threat of assault or injury to him.
Mr McDermott had, worked in construction in London and New York before returning to Ireland with his wife and daughter to build a home in Murrisk.
