Patient told dentist ‘he had bullet for his head’
At Ennis Circuit Court, Dr Tony Cotgreave said in May 2012, Eoin Hannan told him in the reception area of his surgery: “I have a bullet for your head, do you understand?’
“He then repeated: ‘I have a bullet for your head, do you understand that?’ and I said, ‘yes, I do’ and tried to appease him.”
Dr Cotgreave said that Mr Hannan made the threat after complaining that he had abused his teeth in an emergency restoration carried out by him in September 2011 after Mr Hannan broke the ‘lower right six’ tooth from a chicken bone.
The dentist said after Mr Hannan made his threat on May 11: “I did go home that night and believe that my life was at risk.”
Mr Hannan, aged 40, of Kilrush Road, Ennis, Co Clare, denies threatening to kill Dr Cotgreave and causing criminal damage to his dental practice.
Dr Cotgreave said that Mr Hannan had arrived at his Ennis surgery on May 10. “Looking back now two years on, it was like being on a film set because the vitriol from Mr Hannan was profound and offensive…
“I was shocked. In all my years practice I never come across this before. He said that I had abused his mouth and I was the sole cause.”
Dr Cotgreave added: “Mr Hannan told me that he would close me down and burn down my practice.”
The dentist said he asked his receptionist to phone the gardaí, “and Mr Hannan laughed and said ‘I have the guards in my pocket’ and he came up to me and raised his wrists and said that he wanted to hit me.”
Dr Cotgreave said Mr Hannan said before leaving, “he would be back and that he kept his promises”.
Michael Collins, defending, put to Dr Cotgreave his client’s instructions are that on the first day, Mr Hannan said: ‘I should’ve burned this place down because of what you said about my teeth.’
Mr Collins said Mr Hannan said this as he felt Dr Cotgreave, while dictating his comments the previous September during the restoration work, insulted the general state of Mr Hannan’s teeth “and that he was likely to lose them and end up a gummy bear”.
Dr Cotgreave said: “That wasn’t the case at all. He did need further treatment, but he wasn’t about to become a gummy bear as you put it.”
The case continues today.
