Case against neighbours dismissed after stabbing of dog

A dog was stabbed 12 times by a man foraging for mushrooms near Monkstown Golf Club and, yesterday, two men gave conflicting accounts of the incident.

After hours of evidence at Cork District Court, Judge Olann Kelleher said: “I don’t know who is telling the truth.” He dismissed the assault charges against both Eamonn Hourihane, aged 53, of Lee View Place, Monkstown, Co Cork, and neighbour, James Fleming, aged 55, of Carrigmahon, Glenbrook, Co Cork. Each denied assaulting the other at around 11.30am on November 13, 2013.

Both parties agreed that Mr Hourihane stabbed a 55kg bull mastiff crossbreed called Daisy in the neck, but the circumstances giving rise to this were contested.

Mr Fleming said: “I was walking my dogs as I normally do over the fields. I was approached by Mr Hourihane, who stopped me in an aggressive manner. He said I was bad-mouthing him in Passage. I said I hadn’t been in Passage for seven years. He pulled out a knife and stabbed me. I had chains belonging to the dogs in my pocket [which prevented any injury]. I fell to the ground. The dogs started fighting. This diverted his attention away from me. He started stabbing my dog. She is a very docile bitch. She is my son’s dog. I was very upset. She was covered in blood.”

Mr Hourihane said: “I entered the field and I met Mr Fleming with his two mastiffs. He started verbally abusing me about being rats and informers because I had called the dog warden. He then struck me with his black walking stick and threatened to put a bullet in my wife’s head and my head. He set the dogs on my dog and they viciously mauled my dog.

I pleaded with Mr Fleming to call off his dogs. He [one of Fleming’s dogs] had my dog by the throat shaking him from side to side. I had a knife [a potato-peeling knife] to forage for mushrooms. I told him I would stab his dog if he would not call off his dogs. I stabbed the dog.”