Jury in trial of Clare hurler Niall Gilligan accused of assaulting boy, 12, retires to consider verdict

Judge told the jury what they have to decide if there was an assault, or was it not an assault because of a lawful excuse

Niall Gilligan denies assault causing harm with a stick of a then 12-year-old boy at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge on October 5, 2023.

The jury of seven men and five women has retired to consider its verdict in the assault case against former All-Star and Clare All-Ireland winning hurler Niall Gilligan.

At Ennis Circuit Court on Tuesday, the jury commenced deliberations at 12.33pm after Judge Francis Comerford told them they should make their decision in the case “after a cold, direct, forensic determination of the facts”.