The High Court has made the decision to overturn a previous ruling made against a security firm relating to the lawsuit presented by a man from Limerick. This man, heavily involved in the GAA, accuses that he was both violently attacked and wrongfully detained by security staff and stewards at the 2018 All-Ireland hurling championship held at Croke Park.
In a turn of events in February, the High Court decided to uphold a non-appearance judgement that was in Frank Reidy’s favour, an inhabitant of Belville, Kilmeedy, Co Limerick. This verdict was made due to the non-attendance of a participant within the case.
Mr Reidy put forward the argument to the High Court stating that subsequent to the final match on August 19th, 2018, where Limerick trumped Galway at Croke Park, he proceeded to the pitch. As an influential player in the GAA, he was entrusted by management to gather the jerseys and bibs left behind.
The complainant issued that he had made his purpose known to a security staff member and/or stewards and was allowed to proceed onto the pitch. Mr Reidy alleges that he went to help the wife and father of a player who were struggling to gain access to the pitch.
However, the plaintiff asserts that he was abruptly and unexpectedly attacked by personnel which included him being physically assaulted, having his arm forcefully twisted behind his back, and then removed from the pitch.
Mr Reidy has since filed a suit against the GAA, who is indicated in the case under the alias “Tom Ryan” – a representative of Cummann Lúthcleas Gael (GAA) – and Sablecross Limited which trades as Frontline Securities.
In a sworn declaration given by a director at Sablecross, Allan Gannon, he made it clear that Mr Reidy misrepresented himself as a Limerick County Hurling Board member to the firm’s operations manager on the incident’s day, a claim which would have granted him field access. But when the operations manager contacted the Limerick management team, he discovered that Mr Reidy’s claims were unverified.
Sablecross alleges that Mr Reidy was instructed to vacate the field and return to his seating area, after which he became aggressive and abusive, to the extent of injuring the operations manager, necessitating the involvement of the Gardai. A Sablecross worker then escorted Mr Reidy off the premises, and the entrances were shut to hinder his return.
The GAA recorded the event using CCTV cameras, as reported to the High Court. The claimant alleges that the main physical harm he suffered was an exacerbation of a pre-existing left shoulder injury, a statement that Ms Justice Denise Brett has claimed to be a shared view.
Ms Justice Brett noted that the GAA, the first defendant in the case, submitted a complete defence, and the trial is awaiting a hearing date as expected. However, she overturned a ruling made against Sablecross Ltd, the second defendant, in February due to a no-show.
According to Justice Brett, there was a miscommunication among insurance firms in the case which led Sablecross to believe that the insurance lawyer would attend any court hearings. She explained that the run-up to the default judgement was marked by a series of errors, including paperwork mistakenly sent to Sablecross’s prior address, since they shifted locations in March 2020.
Justice Brett stated that she was convinced that they should invalidate the judgement obtained by default of appearance for the interests of justice, even though she praised the professional conduct of the claimant’s legal representatives.