Limerick student who died after alleged assault in Greece to be laid to rest

Niall O'Brien, from Limerick, who was on holiday in Greece with a group of 20 friends, died from serious head injuries following an alleged altercation with another man in the town of Chora.

Limerick student, Niall O’Brien, who died following an alleged assault in Greece last week, will be laid to rest tomorrow.

Mr O’Brien, aged 21, from Monaleen Park, Castletroy, died in Chora, Ios, where he had been holidaying with friends, after sustaining a head injury following an alleged altercation with another man.

He was due to begin his final year of a Degree course in financial mathematics at the University of Limerick, and had secured a part-time job at Castletroy Golf Club where he was also a member.

A 20-year old man, with an address in Dublin, was charged last Thursday, with causing “lethal bodily harm” to Mr O’Brien.

The man was conditionally released on €8,000 bail after appearing before a public prosecutor and judicial investigator on Naxos, Greece.

The man, who was not identified, was ordered to sign on once a month at the Greek embassy in Dublin until his trial.

The accused man’s lawyer, Alexis Anagnostakis, has said his client will be fully contesting the accusation and that, in his opinion, the evidence against his client is “weak”.

The offence against the accused carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, Mr Anagnostakis said.

An informed legal source in Greece said it may take a number of years before the trial gets under way, due to a backlog of cases in the Greek criminal justice system, which the source said, was 'partly' due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr O'Neill's obituary notice reads: “Niall O’Brien (21) died tragically while on holiday in Greece. Niall will be sadly and forever missed by his loving family, huge circle of friends and all his teammates."

It says he is survived by his parents Mike and Anne, his brothers Cian, Eoin, and Alan and extended family.

Mr O’Brien’s remains are reposing at his parents house in Castletroy today.

His funeral Mass which will be live streamed, will take place at 3.30pm tomorrow at Our Lady help of Christians Church, Milford, Limerick, followed by burial in the grounds of St Peter's Church, Broadford, Co Clare.

Mr O’Brien’s family have requested family flowers only, and asked that any donations be made to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which assisted in organising the repatriation of Mr O’Brien’s body from Greece to Limerick.