Trial by jury for Galway men

Four Galway men charged with the manslaughter of a Tipperary man in Galway city centre last summer were sent forward for trial…

Four Galway men charged with the manslaughter of a Tipperary man in Galway city centre last summer were sent forward for trial by jury when they appeared before Galway Circuit Court yesterday.

Colm Phelan (26), who was in Galway for a stag party, collapsed during a dispute in Eyre Square on July 21st and died afterwards. A postmortem revealed he had died from a brain haemorrhage as a result of being struck on the neck with a blunt instrument.

The accused men are Mr Thomas Mongan (20) and Mr Jimmy Mongan (18), both of Hillside Park, Ballybane; Mr Brian McDonagh (18), of Hillside Park; and Mr Gerry Barry (17), of St James's Crescent, Mervue. All are charged with the unlawful killing of Mr Phelan.

The men are also charged with engaging in violence disorder by using or threatening to use unlawful violence, causing people to fear for their safety, on the same occasion. They pleaded not guilty to the charges yesterday and will appear at the Circuit Criminal Court on July 22nd.