The absence of “really important” evidence from a witness was a massive piece of the jigsaw that was missing in an assault case, a court heard yesterday.

A 49-year-old man who received “devastating” injuries in a fight at his home yesterday told a jury that he had no memory of the incident almost four years ago.

The Circuit Criminal Court, in Tralee, has been told that Gerald Fitzgerald sustained brain, liver, and rib injuries and had a sharp object put into his back passage causing injury to his rectum and bladder during the fight. He was left lying in an unconscious and bloodied state.

One of two brothers charged with assaulting their uncle told gardaí he hit him on the side of the head with a tennis racquet and that the other brother hit him with an ashtray during a row, a court heard.

One of two men accused of causing serious harm to a relative, allegedly “flew into a rage” after upsetting things were said about their parents, a jury was told yesterday.

One of two brothers charged with assaulting an uncle phoned another uncle on the night of the alleged incident to say he was “after having it” with the injured party, a court heard yesterday.

Two brothers have gone on trial at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee accused of recklessly or intentionally causing serious harm to their uncle at his home in Kerry almost four years ago.

The powers and advocacy role of Ireland’s National Consumer Agency (NCA) must not be lost when the body is merged with the Competition Authority.

SENIOR executives at the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) were stunned by a raid on their Dublin headquarters yesterday by some 15 Competition Authority officers investigating alleged milk price-fixing.

SIX senior level Cork-based food researchers have been named in the top 20 of 15,000 specialist authors in a global list compiled by the global ratings agency, Thomson Reuters Science Watch.

The head of a US Catholic order that specialised in the treatment of paedophile priests visited Pope Paul VI nearly 50 years ago and followed up with a letter recommending their removal from ministry, it has emerged.

The Competition Authority cleared company mergers on average within 30 days of being notified in 2005, according to a study by McCann FitzGerald.

The number of merger transactions notified to the Competition Authority in 2004 was up 72% on the previous year, according to a study by leading law firm McCann FitzGerald.

More than 90% of the mergers notified to the Competition Authority in 2003 were cleared at the first phase, a survey has revealed.

MEMBERS of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) last year received a 6% rise in salaries to just under €80,000 despite tougher economic conditions.