The High Court jury has granted a man £33,623 in damages as part of a case against John McGahon, a Fine Gael Senator, following an assault outside a pub in Co Louth. The aggrieved party, Breen White, a farmer from Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, sought damages for an assault occasioned by Mr. McGahon outside the Rum House pub in Dundalk on the 16th of June, 2018.
Mr. McGahon, who was 33 at the time and has since been elected to Seanad, refuted these allegations, claiming that he was the one attacked and had only acted in self-defence. The jury was asked to determine if Mr. White had indeed been assaulted and whether any injury he sustain came about or was partly attributable to Mr McGahon’s negligence.
In less than 3 ¼ hours of deliberation, the jury ruled in favour of Mr. White, awarding him a total of £51,685, inclusive of £8,615 for aggravated damages. It assigned 65% responsibility to Mr. McGahon, with 35% charged to Mr. White. Mr Justice Alexander Owens, the judge at the four-day trial, decreed £33,623 against Mr McGahon. The jury was then thanked and discharged, with a service exemption for the next nine years. The matter of legal expenses was postponed for the following week.
During the trial it was revealed that in 2022, Mr. McGahon, a resident of Faughart Gardens, Dundalk, had been exonerated by a Circuit Court jury on charges of causing harm to Mr. White connected with the incident.
Mr. White’s civil action at the High Court relayed that Mr. McGahon attempted to drag his wife, Linda, away with him as they exited the Rum House at approximately 2.30am. He added that when he expressed disapproval, Mr. McGahon dismissed him by questioning his concern. When Mr. White identified the woman as his spouse, Mr. McGahon gestured and uttered some words before the couple exited to the street. Mr. White, still in a celebratory mood after his horse, Total Demolition’s win at Fairyhouse earlier that day, asserted that a confrontation ensued as he awaited a cab home and warned Mr. McGahon to keep his distance from his wife.
Mr White informed his lawyer that Mr McGahon had proclaimed, “I am the boss of this town, you ought to acknowledge me.” Mr McGahon, on the other hand, refuted ever uttering such words, referring to them as the “most trite” thing that could be ascribed to a public official.
He narrated how Mr McGahon first seized his arm outside the pub, leading to subsequent verbal exchanges. Although Mr McGahon’s pals attempted to restrain him, they both eventually ended up on the floor where Mr White claimed he was repeatedly struck on the head by Mr McGahon.
In his defence, Mr McGahon confessed his state of inebriation, acknowledging a previous unhealthy association with alcohol for which he sought therapy.
He narrated interacting with Ms White in “a friendly, lighthearted manner” upon hearing news of a winning horse at Fairyhouse. He also mentioned an unreciprocated apology extended to Mr White at the pub’s exterior.
He confessed that, despite the snub, he persisted in annoying Mr White, escalating the situation. The dispute continued, culminating in Mr White allegedly physically assaulting him, before they both tumbled to the ground. Mr McGahon alleged that he retaliated, hitting Mr White on the head four or five times out of a defensive instinct.