A garda sergeant who is a three times former All-Ireland handball champion was awarded £18,602 compensation by the High Court yesterday for injuries sustained while restraining two youths.
Sgt Liam Connolly of Tramore, Co Waterford, told Mr Justice Budd he responded to a call for assistance outside a public house on January 24th, 1992.
He followed two youths towards a dump and, in a struggle with one of them, was knocked to the ground. A couple of days later he had to go to his own doctor suffering from back pain.
Asked by Mr Justice Budd what made him associate low back pain with the incident, Sgt Connolly said he had never had the pain before.
The judge said a scan had shown that he had degenerative changes before 1992, but there was little doubt that the fall and associated stresses and strain had resulted in prematurely "lighting up" those changes.