The Kilkenny hurling captain, Mr Denis Byrne, has been found not guilty of of assaulting a teenager near Blackrock Garda station in Cork on September 24th, 1997. Judge A.G. Murphy directed the jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday to find him not guilty.
Mr Damian Mullan alleged that Mr Byrne, while serving as a probationary garda, kicked him in the ribs and punched him on the nose on waste ground near the Garda station.
He was 16 at the time and suffered pains in his sides and back and his nose was bleeding after the alleged assault.
Judge Murphy told the jury he was stopping the trial for technical reasons after agreeing with Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, for Mr Byrne, who argued there was a significant contradiction in the prosecution case against Mr Byrne.
Mr Byrne's colleague on the evening, Garda Sean Leahy - who was a prosecution witness - said he never saw Mr Byrne strike Mr Mullen after they both stumbled and fell.
"They appeared to be getting up - more so than a struggle," said Garda Leahy.
Judge Murphy agreed with Mr O'Loughlin that there was a contradiction between Garda Leahy's evidence and Mr Mullan's evidence and it would be wrong to allow the case to go to the jury when the prosecution was in effect presenting two cases.
Mr Byrne, whose address was given as c/o Blackrock Garda station, denied the allegation in a statement to Supt P.J. Brennan of Mayfield station.
He and Garda Leahy had gone to investigate a stone-throwing incident at Blackrock Garda station. They were not in uniform. Youths throwing stones into the station yard was a problem and had resulted in car windscreens being smashed.
They spotted a youth on top of the yard wall telling two friends the cars were in the yard and they could throw the stones. They met the youths later. Garda Leahy identified themselves as gardai and grabbed two of the youths, while he chased the third.
"As I tried to catch him, he fell to the ground and I fell on top of him - he fell face down. There was an immediate struggle and Damian Mullan threw a number of punches at me. He also kicked me and hit me in the left leg.
"I eventually brought Damian Mullan under control using as little force as was necessary," Mr Byrne said in his statement. He feared for his safety as he brought Mr Mullan to the Garda station when they were abused by a gang of 30 youths.
Some of the youths showered them with stones so they took the shorter route by the back of the station.
He only noticed when he got to the station that Mr Mullan's nose was bleeding so he brought him to the toilet to clean up.
Earlier Mr Mullan's family GP, Dr Paul Harty, said he found bruising on Mr Mullan's back and his nose was badly swollen, but he agreed that the bruising and injuries could have been caused by falling on rough ground.
Mr Byrne has since left the Garda to be with his family because his brother is terminally ill.
Asked if he planned to rejoin the Garda, he said: "I will stay at home in Kilkenny where I'm needed."