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A man has told a court he was chased, tripped, punched and kicked as he lay on the ground by a group of males, which included five-times All-Ireland winning Limerick hurler Kyle Hayes.
Cillian McCarthy (24) told Limerick Circuit Criminal Court that Mr Hayes (25) and others “punched” and “stamped” on him after he was “tripped” to the ground outside the Icon nightclub in Limerick city on October 28th, 2019.
He said Mr Hayes also assaulted him inside the club earlier on the night after Mr Hayes became angry that he was chatting to two females at Smyth’s bar in the club. Mr McCarthy alleged Mr Hayes approached him and his friend Craig Cosgrave in the bar and warned them to “stay the f**k away” from the two girls.
He said Mr Hayes became “aggressive” and shouted at him “Do you know who the f**k I am?”.
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He was giving evidence in the continuing trial of three men in relation to the events of the night.
Mr Hayes, of Ballyashea, Kildimo, Co Limerick, denies one count of assault causing harm to Mr McCarthy and two counts of violent disorder, inside and outside the Icon nightclub, on October 28th, 2019.
[ Man ‘punched and kicked’ by Limerick hurler Kyle Hayes outside nightclub while lying on ground ]
Jai Chaudri (22), of Carheeny, Kildimo, denies one count of assaulting Mr McCarthy causing him harm, as well as one count of violent disorder, on the same night.
Mr Cosgrave, (24), of Caherally, Grange, Co Limerick, denies one count of violent disorder.
In his evidence, Mr McCarthy, who said he had shared a litre bottle of Captain Morgan’s rum with Nr Cosgrave prior to them attending the bar together, said he tried explaining to MrHayes that the girls were old school friends of his, but he [Mr Hayes] “did not want to hear it”.
“I just walked away, I knew where it was going. I thought it was going to lead towards a fight – I didn’t want that,” Mr McCarthy said.
He told the court that when he met the two girls again later on, on the club’s dance floor, Mr Hayes became “very aggressive” and “charged” towards him.
“He [Mr Hayes] told me he was getting sick of me, he told me if I wanted ‘to do it’, we’d ‘do it’,” Mr McCarthy said.
Another man who was with Mr Hayes “threw the first punch, hitting me in my right eye”, Mr McCarthy claimed.
He said Mr Hayes and the other man began “punching me continuously into the head”.
Mr McCarthy said he was removed from the dance floor by security staff and admitted he was made “mad” by what happened. “I was mad, I was in pain, and I was agitated. I won’t lie.
[ Limerick hurler Kyle Hayes ‘kicked and punched’ man who spoke to two women in nightclub, court hears ]
“My right eye was pounding, I could feel blood dripping down my face. It was getting hard to see out though it as it was swelling up a lot.”
Mr McCarthy told the court, after CCTV footage of the alleged dancefloor brawl was played to the jury: “You can clearly see Kyle Hayes jumping in and punching me.”
He said when he eventually left the club, he was pursued by Mr Hayes and others. He said Mr Hayes caught up with him “and told me I was all alone now and he’d dig the head off me”.
He said he “started to panic” when other males joined Mr Hayes across the street from him.
Mr McCarthy further alleged that Mr Hayes and others ran towards Mr Cosgrave – who had allegedly thrown punches during the dancefloor melee earlier in the night while trying to protect Mr McCarthy – as he left the venue.
The witness said “it all kicked off again” and he ran towards the parties “to try and help Craig, who was on his own”.
He said Mr Hayes and others began “throwing punches left, right and centre, trying to attack us”.
He said the group chased them up the street, and he was knocked to the ground. “That’s when they started stamping on me.”
Asked by John O’Sullivan, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who had stamped on him, Mr McCarthy replied: “Kyle Hayes, Jai Chaudri (and others).”
[ Legislation allowing for later nightclub opening hours could be enacted by summer, Cabinet told ]
He told the court he sustained a “fracture” to a bone under his right eye and underwent surgery to “repair” it.
Under cross examination by Mr Hayes’s barrister, Brian McInerney SC, Mr McCarthy denied he was the “aggressor” on the night and that his motivation was to “do damage” to Mr Hayes.
Mr McCarthy denied that all Mr Hayes said to him on the night was to stop talking to a girl who was in a relationship with one of his friends.
The trial before Judge Dermot Sheehan, and a jury of seven men and five women, at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court, continues on Friday.