Garda whose nose was broken by colleague was almost equally to blame for incident, judge rules

ireland
Garda Whose Nose Was Broken By Colleague Was Almost Equally To Blame For Incident, Judge Rules
Garda Denis Lordan was awarded just over €13,000 against Ronan O’Shaughnessy (above) which Judge Michael Walsh then cut to €8,000 on the basis Lordan had been 40 per cent to blame for the incident. Photo: Collins
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Ray Managh

A garda whose nose was broken by a colleague, who punched him in an after-hours booze-up in Ryan's Bar in Dublin’s Lower Camden Street nearly three years ago, was almost equally to blame for what happened, a judge decided on Wednesday.

Garda Denis Lordan, who had sued his Lucan Garda Station colleague, Garda Ronan O’Shaughnessy, for €60,000 damages for assault, was awarded just over €13,000 against O’Shaughnessy which Judge Michael Walsh then cut to €8,000 on the basis Lordan had been 40 per cent to blame for the incident.

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Judge Walsh said it appeared the two men had consumed “an extraordinary amount of alcohol” when they and other unit colleagues from Lucan Station had gone out for evening drinks after work in March 2022 and after midnight had moved on from Cassidy’s Pub to the nearby Ryan's Bar.

The judge, who stated the incident involving a closely knit garda unit should never have reached court, told barrister Matthew Jolley, who appeared for Lordan, that he did not think the assault should attract extra aggravated damages.

Mr Jolley, who appeared with W and E Bradshaw Solicitors, told the court his client had not only suffered pain and trauma but had been left with a permanent, although minor, disfigurement as his nose could not be completely straightened without significant further surgery.

The gardaí involved in the night out are all still colleagues at Lucan Garda Station but some have switched units in order not to have to work on same shifts.

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Judge Walsh said an incident involving Garda O’Shaughnessy’s girlfriend, Garda Aisling Walsh, had taken place in Cassidy’s and later O’Shaughnessy told Lordan he should not be advising him with regard to his relationship with Walsh and had panicked and lashed out wildly when Lordan allegedly attempted to throttle him.

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Judge Walsh said he accepted the evidence of Garda Fiachra Whelan who, when buying a drink in Ryan's had seen Lordan towering over O’Shaughnessy at the bar and addressing him in an aggressive manner.

The judge said he would award Garda Lordan damages of €13,385 but considered he was 40 per cent responsible for contributory negligence at the time and reduced the figure to €8,031. He awarded Lordan District Court costs against O’Shaughnessy.

A garda officer kept a watching brief in order to report back to the garda authorities about evidence that had been presented to the court.

It was learned afterwards that garda authorities had not been aware of the after-hours drinking incident or assault until gardaí had applied for time off to attend court following the service of summonses on garda witnesses.

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