A man hailing from Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, known as Breen White, refuted in a court of justice that he initiated a physical fight during a confrontational encounter with a man, who subsequently became an esteemed senator of Fine Gael. He brought the case following an occurrence outside the Rum House bar located in Dundalk, Co Louth, which transpired around 3am on June 16th, 2018. The legal tussle is against John McGahon, a resident of Faughart Gardens, Dundalk.
John McGahon was found not guilty by a jury at the Circuit Criminal Court in 2022, after vehemently denying allegations of inflicting harm on Mr White during the spat. In his civil case at the High Court, Mr White is pursuing compensation for the alleged physical battery and assault. McGahon completely rebuffs the allegations, instead asserting that he was the victim of an attack by Mr White.
At the time of the occurrence, Mr White, a farmer, had been enjoying a celebratory occasion following a victorious run by his horse, Total Demolition, at Fairyhouse. According to his claims, the volatile situation was fuelled when Mr McGahon supposedly placed his arm around Linda, the wife of Mr White, as they exited the pub. Both men initially had a verbal exchange and Mr White instructed Mr McGahon to stop bothering his wife. He reports that the senator seized his arm outside the pub, leading to additional verbal exchanges. Even though Mr McGahon’s friends attempted to restrain him, both men ended up on the ground, and Mr White alleges being struck several times in the head by Mr McGahon.
Mr White firmly denies during his questioning by Hugh Hartnett SC that Mr McGahon casually placed his arm around his wife’s shoulders. He instead contends that it wasn’t her shoulders. He also disagrees with the lawyer’s suggestion that McGahon proffered his hand as a gesture of goodwill outside the pub.
He denied pushing Mr McGahon into the street, taking a swipe at him, or seizing him by the throat during the dispute. He refused to accept the footage exhibited in the courtroom showing him doing these actions. Relating to the video which Mr Hartnett alleges shows him choking Mr McGahon, Mr White denied this claim, stating instead, he had his hand on Mr McGahon’s right shoulder. He said this was when Mr McGahon first initiated a physical confrontation with him.
Mr. White refuted the claim that at any point during the video he was seen acting aggressively. His intention, he explained, was to separate his wife from the crowd on the street. He also denied pulling on Mr. McGahon’s jumper during the altercation.
The jury submitted a question to the judge, asking if at any point it had registered to Mr. White to leave the scene, especially when his son arrived a few seconds before the episode concluded.
Mr. White responded, sharing a personal history of his brother’s tragic murder in New York in 1996. An angry bar patron had challenged his brother to a fight outdoors after being forced out of the bar they were at. As his brother attempted to leave, the man returned with a knife, stabbing him 13 times.
When queried by Mr. Hartnett about whether he noticed his son’s arrival at the Rum House, he confessed he had not. Mr. White also denied being on top of Mr McGahon during the incident, stating they had simultaneously fallen to the ground.
He contested the description of him being “like a boxer exiting a corner” at a certain point during the incident. He also refuted the notion put forth by the prosecution of him being “unfortunate in pubs.” Mr. White referred to an incident two decades ago when a man had thrown a pint glass at him in a different pub and faced prosecution, but the case fell apart within the hour.
Mr. Hartnett argued that the phrase “I run this town,” allegedly used by Mr. McGahon, was mentioned by Mr. White in court for the first time. The counsel asserted it had never come up during the criminal trial or at any other occasion. To this, Mr. White responded that many more things were said by Mr. McGahon that night, including this phrase, which was etched in his memory.
He also refuted the claim that he had adopted the phrase from a different case in Kerry when an MP had used it, mentioning that he was unaware of such a case.
Leonard Gannon, a part-time minibus driver whose vehicle was parked near the pub that night, testified that he had not paid much attention to what he deemed as “handbags,” until he saw one man overpowering the other on the ground and assaulting him. Gannon noted that the man on the ground did not seem to be fighting back.
With the plaintiff’s case wrapped up, the defence is expected to present their case from Thursday.
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