McCartan faces civil trial for alleged assault

DOWN footballer James McCartan is to face a civil trial following an alleged assault on a Westmeath footballer last May.

McCartan, who won All-Ireland medals in 1991 and 1994, has been charged under the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act (1997) after an incident in a challenge game during which the Midlanders full back Kenneth Larkin sustained a broken jaw.

The injury necessitated surgery and the insertion of three plates, in Larkin’s jawbone.