A garda investigation is under way after a young Co Kilkenny hurler was seriously assaulted outside a hotel in Thurles early yesterday.
Hurling star P.J. Delaney remained in a critical condition in Cork Regional Hospital last night after an assault in the early hours of the morning in which he sustained a life-threatening head injury.
Mr Delaney (26), of Johnstown, came on as a substitute for Kilkenny in the All-Ireland hurling final against Cork the previous Sunday.
The assault on him occurred at Liberty Square, Thurles, shortly after he left Hayes Hotel in the town at about 2.45 a.m. yesterday. According to locals, there were "words exchanged" during a disco at the hotel and the row spilled out on to the street where Mr Delaney was hit across the head with a hard object, believed to be a baseball bat. Gardai said an incident had occurred inside the nightclub which led to one person's expulsion. That person was not Mr Delaney.
He was taken initially to Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel, before being transferred to Cork Regional Hospital, where he underwent an operation for a head injury. It was indicated that the following 48 hours were critical to his recovery.
Gardai in Thurles sealed off the area and a car, nearby shop windows and a large section of pavement were swathed in black plastic yesterday as the investigation began.
Some people immediately came to Mr Delaney's assistance and the Garda and an ambulance were called at 2.45 a.m.
The incident occurred outside the nightclub run by Hayes Hotel, the birthplace of the GAA, which reopened three weeks ago following extensive refurbishments. Three years ago, gardai investigated the suspicious death of a local youth following an incident just feet from Sunday morning's assault. In that, the son of a local publican, Dinny Mackey (16), died but no charges followed.
A large area including a lane leading to both the nightclub and the hotel's car park were preserved pending the arrival of the Garda forensic unit. It arrived on the scene early yesterday afternoon. Gardai also mounted house-to-house inquiries in Liberty Square.
Mr Delaney, who plays with Fenians Club, was the star of Kilkenny's defeat of Galway in the 1993 All-Ireland final and was also the winner of two All-Ireland minor hurling medals in 1990 and 1991 when Kilkenny defeated Cork and Tipperary respectively.
His father, Pat Delaney, won four All-Ireland hurling titles with Kilkenny and his brother, Paudge, came on as a sub substitute for Kilkenny in the All-Ireland under-21 hurling final against Galway in Tullamore yesterday.
Gardai have established an investigating team and incident room in Thurles and confirmed that they would be speaking with people who attended the nightclub. They also said they would be speaking to people who were on Liberty Square at the time of the incident.
They confirmed that they were following a number of lines of inquiry and have appealed to anybody present at the time of the assault to come forward.