Man critical as gardaí probe row outside pub

A married man in his 50s is in a critical condition as gardaí continue an investigation into the fight outside a Cork pub that left him with serious head injuries.

It is not clear at this stage if his injuries are the direct result of being assaulted or if he fell and hit his head on the ground near the Red Cove Inn in Mahon in the early hours of Saturday morning. The scene was sealed off for technical examination after the incident around closing time at the southside suburban bar.

The 57-year-old is from the Mahon area and was in the Red Cove Inn on Friday night where a birthday party is believed to have been taking place. His family were at his bedside over the weekend at Cork University Hospital, where he was in a critical condition last night.

A verbal row that started off inside the pub turned into a physical fight, but it is uncertain at this stage how many people were involved.

However, the row is believed to be linked to an underlying dispute between a number of people in the area.

Gardaí are believed to be following a definite line of inquiry and have examined CCTV footage from the area as part of their inquiries.

But the investigation team wants to speak to everybody who was in the bar or who was in the area outside when the incident happened shortly before 1am on Saturday.

“This is a serious incident and anybody with information that might help can contact us in confidence,” said Superintendent Barry McPolin.

He said there were a lot of people in the pub on the night and gardaí aim to speak to everybody present. They have already conducted several interviews and door-to-door inquiries.

Any witnesses or anyone who was in the area or in the Red Cove Inn are asked to contact gardaí at Blackrock [phone]; Anglesea St [phone]; or the Garda confidential line 1800 666 111.