Former Irish soccer star died of blunt force trauma to head after unprovoked assault, inquest finds

Alan Bourke was capped for the Republic of Ireland junior soccer team in 1996 – the same year he appeared for Mungret Regional in an FAI Junior Cup final

Alan Bourke was walking his bicycle through the Treaty City on April 15, 2022, when he was set upon by a group of people who robbed and assaulted him at Parnell Street. Photo via Facebook

Former Republic of Ireland junior soccer star Alan Bourke, who was fatally assaulted in Limerick City, died of blunt force trauma to his head, his inquest at Limerick Coroner’s Court heard.

Mr Bourke, aged 48, was walking his bicycle through the Treaty City on April 15, 2022, when he was set upon by a group of people who robbed and assaulted him at Parnell Street.

Mr Bourke, from St Mary’s Park, suffered a number of blows to the face and fell striking his head off the pavement during the unprovoked attack.

A post mortem on the remains of the talented Limerick sportsman found he suffered a fractured skull, brain hemorrhage, as well as bruising to his face.

Detective Garda Dean Landers, Roxboro Road garda station, told the inquest that gardaí received a 999 call about the assault and were told Mr Bourke was “unconscious but breathing”.

“He (Mr Bourke) suffered a head injury and the attacker was not long at the scene,” Det. Gda Landers said.

Mr Bourke was treated at the scene by emergency first responders and transferred by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick where he was pronounced dead in the early hours of the following morning, April 16, 2022.

Detective Garda Landers said three suspects were identified from local CCTV including a woman, and two men.

One of the three, Mark Ryan, aged 38, Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick, who, at the time, had 111 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to robbing Mr Bourke of a bag of beer cans and a bicycle, and was jailed last year for four-and-a-half years with the final six months suspended.

Michael Casey, aged 41, Cathedral Place, with over 40 convictions, pleaded guilty to Mr Bourke’s manslaughter, and he was jailed for six years with the final year suspended in November 2023.

The woman, who was in the company of Ryan and Casey at the time, was not charged with any criminal offence, and is since deceased.

“Witnesses heard a loud bang or thud when Alan Bourke hit the ground. The three people fled the area with his property (a bag of cans and a bicycle) while he lay motionless on the ground,” added Detective Garda Landers.

Autopsy report

An autopsy report, compiled by pathologist, Dr SallyAnne Collis, stated that Mr Bourke’s “brain injuries were not survivable”.

“His injuries were consistent with blunt force impact to the face as a result of a punch or punches. There were no obvious offensive or defensive injuries. Injuries to the brain were considered fatal,” it noted.

There was evidence of “chronic alcohol consumption”, “pneumonia”, and Mr Bourke was “in the end stages of liver disease”, which was a contributory factor in his death, the report found.

Coroner, John McNamara said: “If he (Mr Bourke) hadn’t been punched, he wouldn’t have fallen.” 

Addressing Mr Bourke’s family, the coroner passed on his condolences and told them: “It’s been a long road that you’ve travelled, and it has been difficult, I’ve no doubt.” 

“He was a young man, I understand he was well-known in sporting circles. It’s a terribly tragic way for a life to end,” the coroner said.

A jury returned a “narrative” verdict, that Mr Bourke died on April 16, 2022, as a result of blunt force trauma from a fall after he was assaulted, in accordance with the findings of the Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.

Alan Bourke

Mr Bourke, a former manager at a tool hire plant, had previously excelled at soccer and rugby, but was vulnerable in his final days struggling with alcohol addiction.

A talented striker, scoring 20-plus goals a season, Mr Bourke was capped for the Republic of Ireland junior soccer team in 1996 – the same year he appeared for Mungret Regional in an FAI Junior Cup final, for which he and the rest of the team were later awarded a civic reception with then Mayor of Limerick and former Labour TD, Jan O’Sullivan.

Mr Bourke also won a much-sought after Munster Junior Cup medal with Mungret Regional FC in 1994.

His heartbroken sister, Diane, wrote in a victim impact statement read out at Michael Casey’s sentencing hearing: “Alan was a loving son, father, and friend to many, and our lives have changed forever. 

Alan had the biggest heart and was the apple of his late mother’s eye. We try to remember how he lived and not how he died. 

“To this day, I avoid Parnell Street at all costs. It is awful to be scared all the time in your own city. I’m not Alan’s sister anymore, I’m the girl whose brother was killed.” 

Sentencing judge, Dermot Sheehan, said Casey should have been “forewarned” about the serious consequences of committing crime as he was previously convicted in 2016 of committing a burglary at the home of 62-year-old bachelor John O’Donoghue, in Doon, County Limerick, who suffered a fatal heart attack when he came across Casey and an accomplice at his home.