Call to dismiss assault charge against EuroMillions winner’s son

A JUDGE has been asked to dismiss a mart assault charge against farmer son of EuroMillions winner, Dolores McNamara.

At Ennis District Court, solicitor Daragh Hassett made the application to Judge Mary Larkin for the case dismissal against his client, Gary McNamara after the alleged injured party failed to show up to court for the contested assault case.

In the case, Gary McNamara (43) of Ruan Manor, Ruan, Castleconnell, Co Limerick denies the minor assault charge on Bernard Earley at Ennis Mart on August 17 2021.

After Mr Earley failed to attend, Mr Hassett told Judge Larkin, “I am asking for the case to be dismissed.”

He said, “Myself and my client have a certain view of the alleged injured party in this case in relation to his motives.”

Mr Hassett said that after the last call-over of cases in September, the case was reported in the media.

Mr Hassett there after the case was reported on, there was a phone call from the area that the alleged injured party lives in to his office “asking for a phone call back from me to discuss the case”.

He said, “I thought that this was improper.”

Mr Hassett said that the CCTV evidence in the case is of no assistance to the prosecution case.

The solicitor said that he was resisting in the strongest possible terms a Garda application that the case be adjourned to next January.

Sergeant Aiden Lonergan told the court that the alleged injured party could not come to court due to a medical issue concerning a close family relative and that Mr Hassett’s office had been informed on Monday that the alleged injured party would not be coming to court.

Mr Hassett told Judge Larkin that there was no medical evidence before her in relation to what the alleged injured party has told Gardai.

Judge Larkin asked Sergeant Lonergan did he have any medical evidence and to which the sergeant replied, “I can’t adduce that today.”

Judge Larkin said that she would adjourn the case to November 2 to Ennis District Court for the medical evidence to be provided concerning Mr Earley’s relative.

Judge Larkin said that if the evidence is not before the court, “I have will to accede to Mr Hassett’s application” for the dismissal of the case.

In court last month, Mr Hassett said that Mr McNamara was “to fully contest the case in every way”.

He said that even though the CCTV footage is State evidence, it was very helpful to his client’s defence.

Mr Hassett said that the CCTV footage shows that “nothing happens”.

A native of Limerick, Mr McNamara farms a substantial landholding in east Clare.

Previously, Mr Hassett told the court that the case is not suitable for legal aid.

Gary  McNamara’s family connection to Dolores, who won a then record €115 million EuroMillions jackpot in August 2005, was not referred to during the brief hearing into the case. 

Mr McNamara has been farming land in east Clare for a number of years and in 2016 secured planning permission from Clare County Council for animal housing, feed and slurry storage facilities at Islandcosgry, Ogonnelloe, Killaloe.

Documents lodged with the Council application stated that Mr McNamara is a beef farmer with about 100 bovine livestock units on 220 acres of “eligible agricultural land” at Tinerana Farm.

The purpose of the proposed development was to accommodate cattle stocked on Mr McNamara’s holding over the winter period and to provide suitable storage facilities for fodder, animal waste and farm equipment required for conventional and modern livestock farming.

The documents stated that the scale of the farmyard proposal was consistent with his farming activity and numbers of animals and type stocked.