Details of an alleged assault between pilgrims on their way home from Knock Shrine and the owners of a filling station were outlined to Judge Mary Devins at Ballyhaunis District Court on Tuesday.
Judge Devins heard evidence from both the prosecution and defence about the brawl, which broke out on the forecourt of Freeman’s filling station in Kilkelly as the pilgrims were returning from Knock.
Kathleen Stokes of 5 Ardmore, Ballybeg, Waterford, was the only person to be prosecuted in relation to the incident. Stokes was charged with assaulting Anthony Freeman, the owner of the filling station.
Mr Freeman told the court that he was in his home adjacent to his business on the afternoon of August 16 2008 when a group of between seven and 10 caravans pulled into the forecourt. He went down to lend a hand when he saw Stokes in an area off the car wash which had a sign telling people there was no entry there, and she had a bucket in her hand. He told her to get out of there but she became aggressive towards him and they both raised their voices. He said Stokes picked up the brush part of the car wash and poked him in the head a few times with it, and then he was set on and beaten by a group of men. Mr Freeman also told the court that his son and daughter also were given a bad beating in the incident, which saw a brawl break out across the forecourt. He said that when he was able to get away from the people who attacked him, he went to his home and got a shotgun and fired a shot aimed at the wheel of a caravan which brought the whole incident to a halt. He then broke the shotgun and handed it to the gardaí as soon as they arrived.
Mr Freeman said the station’s CCTV system was broken and didn’t record the incident and still hasn’t been fixed.
Under cross examination from Evan O’Dwyer, solicitor for Stokes, Freeman denied that he assaulted Stokes first.
Mr Freeman’s son Padraig told the court that he had just finished work and was in the family home when he saw the large contingent of caravans arrive and went down to help in the shop. He gave evidence of a blonde woman beating his father, followed by a group of men. As he tried to help his father he was assaulted by another man, he claimed. During this time he also saw a man hitting his sister with the gun of an air hose. That same man then jumped in a car and sped off.
Terrence Regan was in the filling station office talking to another employee. When the cars and caravans arrived the employee went out to lend a hand and told Mr Regan to stay in the office and not let anyone in. He said he heard a lot of noise outside and went to investigate. When he went on to the forecourt Regan said saw Anthony Freeman’s daughter being assaulted. He ran out and pushed the man away from her. He said he also saw Mr Freeman being beaten by a group of men and Stokes.
Garda Gerry Walsh told the court that he arrived on the scene shortly after Mr Freeman had fired a shot at the caravan on the forecourt and that Freeman gave him the broken shotgun as soon as he arrived at around 2.25pm. He told the court the atmosphere was very tense and he and a colleague had to keep the two groups apart. The only people left at the filling station were the Freemans, their employees, Stokes, her husband, and their three children. All other people involved had driven off at this stage. He told the court that he spoke to both parties and took between 14 and 15 statements from different people involved.
In her evidence Stokes told the court that she arrived at the station driving her car with one of her children and her husband was driving a van with the other children in it. She told the court that another group of people had left Knock at around the same time, but she didn’t know who they were. She said she went into the shop and came out a short time later and went looking for some water to clean her windscreen, and she found a bucket near the carwash area of the forecourt. She said Mr Freeman came over shouting and roaring at her and grabbed the bucket off her and started to hit her, and he then grabbed the hood of the top she was wearing and started to swing her around. She said that’s when the other people who were at the petrol station got involved. She denied assaulting Anthony Freeman.
Stokes went on to say that Freeman shot at her caravan while one of her children was standing near it shortly after, and that after the shot all the other people who were there took off and Freeman held her and her family at gunpoint until the gardaí arrived.
Judge Mary Devins told the court that she would make her decision on January 5 2009.
