A homeless alcoholic got “whacked”, "skittled"and was “laid out” by a rampaging bullock while strolling down a street in Ennis during the summer, a court has heard.
At Ennis District Court today, solicitor, Daragh Hassett for 42-year-old Piotr Baram told Judge Patrick Durcan that Mr Baram’s drinking has got a lot worse since the bull attack.
Mr Hassett told the court: “Since this accident Piotr is in an awful lot of pain and is trying to numb it with drink.”
A native of Poland, Mr Baram has been homeless in Ennis for a number of years and Mr Hassett said: “Mr Baram is a chronic alcoholic and things were bad enough for him but, during the summer while (he was) strolling down the street, a bullock had broken loose from the mart."
'His drinking has got worse'
He said: “This was widely covered on social media - the bullock made its way towards Ennis and it was Mr Baram’s misfortune to get knocked over and whacked by the bullock."
The incident took place on the morning of July 25 last and Mr Hassett said: “Piotr was laid out and was brought to University Limerick Hospital. He did get a bad injury to his head and got a number of staples to the top of his head. Certainly his drinking has got worse, I would believe, since that."
Mr Hassett said that Mr Baram showed him footage “on his phone of him being skittled by the bull up town”.
In an earlier unrelated case, the court heard how a thief’s dog knocked over a sign on a street in Ennis causing €200 worth of damage while the two ran from the scene of a theft.
Judge Durcan asked Mr Hassett: “Earlier today we heard about the dog not being prosecuted - are you telling me that the bullock is not being prosecuted?”
"'A national scandal' that homeless men were sleeping in public toilets"
Mr Baram was before the court concerning a public order charge. Sgt Aiden Lonergan said that at 1.40pm on Saturday, September 28 Mr Baram was found asleep outside Ennis Cathedral.
Sgt Lonergan said that Mr Baram was unable to speak or stand up due to his drunken state and was a danger to himself.
Sgt Lonergan said that Mr Baram has 42 drink-related previous convictions. Mr Baram first came to public prominence in April 2013 when it emerged that Mr Baram and Czech national, Josef Pavelka were sleeping in a public toilet in the town.
Judge Durcan remarked at the time that it was “a national scandal” that the two homeless men were sleeping in public toilets.
Mr Pavelka died in a laneway off Ennis’s O’Connell Street in June 2013 and an inquest found that Mr Pavelka had toxic levels of alcohol in his system when he died of a heart attack in the laneway.
In relation to the public order charge before Ennis District Court today, Judge Durcan imposed a fine of €100 on Mr Baram.