Gardaí accused of beating protestor

Three gardaí have gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court accused of beating a 2002 Reclaim the Streets protestor on the head with their batons.

Garda Ronan Judge and Garda Thomas Victory of Store Street Garda Station, and Garda Paul Daly from Pearse Street Station have all denied assaulting Rory McMonagle, aged 23, of Neville Road, Rathgar, on May 6, 2002.

Mr McMonagle, a Trinity College student at the time, told the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury that by the time the protest moved from Burgh Quay to Dame Street and onto College Green at around 6pm to 7pm, gardaí "appeared to have had enough".

He said they were aggressively pushing people from the street onto the pavement, and in his opinion, they did so "without proper consideration" of those already on the pavement. Mr McMonagle said this caused a lot of people to be squashed and fall over each other.

He told prosecuting counsel, Mr John O’Kelly SC (with Mr Luan O Braonain BL) that he saw a young woman lying on the ground in a foetal position as "gardai were stampeding on her".

Mr McMonagle said out of concern for the woman he pushed a garda away from her.

"Then about six gardai were hitting me with their batons," Mr McMonagle told the jury of eight men and four women.

He said although he did not fall to the ground he kept his head down as gardaí hit him on the head, arms and legs.

Mr McMonagle said five or six seconds later a more senior garda, who appeared to think his colleagues’ attack was "getting out of hand", put a stop to it. When he put his hand to his head he realised it was bleeding.

He then stood there for a while with his blood-covered hand out-stretched, saying to the gardaí: "Look what you have done."

A short while later he moved on and was reunited with the friend he had accidentally separated from during the protest.

Mr McMonagle said he got into the first ambulance he found on the street and was treated at St James’ Hospital with six stitches to close the wounds on his head.

Opening the case to the jury Mr O’Kelly said it will hear from witnesses who had been at the scene of the alleged assault and said it would also be shown a video compilation of footage recorded by cameras on board garda helicopters and by private individuals.

Mr O’Kelly said the jury will also hear from senior members of the Garda Siochána who would identify "certain members of gardaí" seen in the said videos.

The hearing is expected to resume on Wednesday before Judge Yvonne Murphy and the jury after legal argument in its absence.