Gardaí believe man killed by car rather than blow in row

GARDAÍ now believe a man found dead in the Wicklow village of Avoca died after being hit by a passing car and not from a blow he received during a row outside a pub.

Brian Doyle, 48, was found lying on the ground outside Fitzgerald’s pub with serious head injuries after 9pm on Sunday.

The single man had been involved in a row with another man outside the pub at 9pm, during which he was hit in the head.

Gardaí suspect the row was over the Liverpool v Everton match they had been watching in the pub.

Both men had been drinking since 3pm.

Garda sources said Mr Doyle fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious. Indications suggested his death was due to the blow and the fall. This has now changed.

“A car probably hit him. The cause of death is due to the car, rather than him [the man who struck him],” said a garda source.

He said Doyle had been lying on the ground after he fell and that he was partially on the footpath and partially on the road.

He said his head may have been sticking out and was struck by a car that was passing by at about 9.15pm. The driver, a local woman, then rang the Gardaí.

Following tests on her car, Gardaí have come to the view that the cause of death was due to the car striking Mr Doyle.

Gardaí have already spoken to the man involved in the row outside Fitzgerald’s, which was the pub at the centre of the BBC series Ballykissangel.

The local man, 23, is understood to have admitted to gardaí he had an altercation with the deceased, but it’s not clear if he has given any further details.

He was interviewed voluntarily and has not been arrested.

Gardaí have appealed to any witnesses who saw what happened outside the pub to contact them.

Garda sources said they would wait until all witnesses have come forward before they proceed any further.