Kildare man allegedly hit with garden shovel while lying in bed - court hears
The court was told there was a ‘feud’ between two families
A judge dismissed a case against a man who was accused of hitting another man over the head with a shovel at a campsite in Monasterevin, Co Kildare.
Joe Sweeney (32) of Kill Hill Campsite, Monasterevin, Co Kildare had denied assaulting Michael Cash and causing him harm and production of a garden shovel at Kill Hill Campsite on December 10, 2023.
In evidence, Michael Cash told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court that he was at home and lying down in bed when the assault occurred. “Joe Sweeney came in and assaulted me in my home,” he said.
Mr Cash said the assault “happened in a flash” and “I was hit on the head with a small shovel”. He said he received a cut to his head but refused to attend hospital despite the ambulance staff recommendation that he should attend.
Garda Sergeant Jason Hughes said there was no medical report available in relation to any injuries.
“I wanted to get away. I didn’t want to go to hospital,” Mr Cash said in evidence.
Anne Doyle BL questioned Mr Cash about statements he had made to Gardai. She said in the first statement, he had said he was assaulted at around 2pm. In the second statement, she noted he said he had gone to sleep at around 11.30pm.
“Why did you say in your first statement it was 2pm?” she asked.
“I don’t remember that,” Mr Cash replied.
She said Garda Shane Monaghan had described Mr Cash as “very intoxicated” on the night. He denied this and said he had consumed four or five cans of cider but wasn’t very drunk.
Ms Doyle then asked Mr Cash about his recollection of the night. She asked if the accused had said anything. “I don’t remember,” Mr Cash replied.
“In your statement you said he said, ‘Jimmy is not here now to save you’,” Ms Doyle pointed out. She said the story didn’t add up. “I have to put it to you that you are telling a pack of lies,” she said.
Ms Doyle said “there is a feud between your two families” and she asked Mr Cash if he lives in Mountmellick. He agreed that he did. She claimed the man had a history of making false allegations, something which he denied.
“You never made a false allegation about Joe Sweeney pulling a gun on you?” asked Ms Doyle. Mr Cash said “this is going on a while in this family”.
Garda Monaghan gave evidence of attending to a call at the unofficial halting site in Kill Hill on the night in question in the early morning. He said there was no sign of the injured party and he left at around 1am.
Garda Monaghan said he later became aware that an ambulance had been called to the site and he returned and saw Mr Cash being treated by paramedics. He said the man refused to go to hospital and he made a statement to Gardaí two days later. He also provided three photographs of his injuries to Gardai.
Garda Monaghan said he arrested the accused on March 24. He said the accused “answered questions but made no admissions” in relation to an assault. He said efforts were made to obtain a medical record but none was available. “He had never mentioned the incident to his GP,” said Garda Monaghan.
Ms Doyle asked if any shovel was recovered and Garda Monaghan said there wasn’t. He said he attended the campsite earlier as there was an incident involving Mr Cash’s father in law.
Joe Sweeney gave evidence of the events that night. “I was in my home watching TV and my father in law Jimmy Casey had a bit of an episode,” he said. “My father in law was a very aggressive and violent man,” he said.
“He was running around the houses with slashers,” said Mr Sweeney. He said his father in law was then arrested by Gardaí. “The guards came back and said there was a man assaulted,” said Mr Sweeney.
“We thought everyone was gone out of the yard when Jimmy was arrested,” he said. He said the injured party doesn’t live at Kill Hill and he denied any assault.
“That’s a full pack of lies because he wasn’t seen till the guards came back the second time,” said Mr Sweeney. He said he is a “trained boxer” and would have no need to use a shovel.
Mr Sweeney said he had a previous encounter when “Mr Cash attacked me with a weapon and I defended with my hands”.
He said there was “a family feud going on” and the alleged injured party would do anything to get him out of the way. “His wife you could say would have a vendetta,” said Mr Sweeney. He said Mr Cash wasn’t there when Gardai first attended but “all of a sudden, like Houdini, he appeared”.
He again denied assaulting Mr Cash and he said he was trying to become a boxing coach and “this is the only thing holding me back”.
His wife Margaret Sweeney, who goes by Margaret Casey, said the injured party is her brother in law. She said he wasn’t there when her father was arrested.
“My dad had slashers and he was running around the yard like a mad man,” she recalled.
She said it “makes me sad to think about it because my dad passed away”.
She said herself and her husband don’t want to be near her brother in law and only wanted to get on with their lives.
She said her husband hadn’t struck Mr Cash and any dangerous implements had been removed from the site when her father was arrested. She denied Mr Cash had ever stayed at Kill Hill before.
Ms Doyle said the court had to have serious doubts about the prosecution. “There are a number of reasonable doubts,” she said.
Judge Andrew Cody dismissed the charge and granted legal aid for counsel in the case.