Man 'unable to speak' after being punched and kicked before horse fair in Offaly town

Jury sees CCTV recording of men and horses on street during early morning assault

Published 21st Apr 2026, 20:00 BST Updated 30th Apr 2026, 10:04 BST Trial is continuing at Tullamore Circuit Court Jury sees CCTV recording of men and horses on street during early morning assault A MAN had to be treated in Tullamore Hospital after being kicked on the ground and left lying on the footpath the night before the 2023 Banagher Horse Fair, a trial heard today (Tuesday, April 21).

A jury at Tullamore Circuit Court viewed CCTV footage which showed a group of people gathered with some horses on a street in the early hours of September 17, 2023.

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The footage, harvested from a security camera at a house on The Hill, Main Street, Banagher, showed a number of males involved in conversation while standing on the street close to a van at 1.54am.

A pony was also seen, along with two other horses who are led across the road by a man, close to where most of the group congregated.

The footage, which lasted about five minutes, then showed one man punching another man before being joined by others who also hit the victim.

READ ALSO: Trial opens of man accused of assault night before horse fair

The recording showed a man being struck several times while he was standing on the street and then being kicked on a number of occasions when he was lying on a footpath.

James Hogan Junior (34), 1 Bolster Terrace, Mallow, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting John Connors, causing him harm.

The jury heard that the alleged injured party, Mr Connors, was not in court.

Garda Conor Fanning, who was stationed in Banagher at the time, gave evidence of receiving CCTV footage from Banagher resident Jared Hynes and after being uploaded to a Garda Siochana video sharing system, one of the men in the recording was identified as Mr Hogan, the accused.

Garda Fanning said he had received information from the alleged injured party that individuals in the footage were from Mallow and Charleville in Co Cork.

When Garda Fanning asked a guard in Mallow to view the footage, Garda Jack O'Sullivan said he recognised Mr Hogan because he knew him from the town from dealing with him in relation to horses which would be loose.

Garda O'Sullivan said “100 per cent” he believed the man he recognised in the footage to be James Hogan Junior.

Earlier, the jury heard from Jared Hynes who said he was alone in bed texting his partner when he heard “a lot of talking outside”.

Mr Hynes said he could “watch stuff happening” through an app on his phone which was connected to his security camera outside the bedroom window and he downloaded the recording to an SD card and gave it to local gardai on September 21.

Garda Fanning gave further evidence, saying that on the night of the alleged assault he had been in Shannonbridge dealing with a separate incident but when he got to Banagher there was a male, identified as John Connors (42), lying on the ground.

The alleged victim was identified by his son, also John, who was present during the incident.

Garda Fanning said John Connors Senior was unable to speak, was breathing heavily and was in a lot of pain.

An ambulance was called to bring him to hospital and subsequently a statement was taken from him, along with statements from his son and wife.

Garda Fanning said another individual involved in the incident the night before the horse fair was identified to him as Lee Hegarty, Charleville.

The garda said he went to the home of James Hogan Junior on May 10, 2024 and while the man was not there when he called, they met afterwards at Mallow Garda Station.

Garda Fanning said he interviewed Mr Hogan but there was nothing of evidential value in his statement. Mr Hogan was subsequently arrested and charged.

Garda Fanning agreed with defence counsel David Nugent, BL, that he was relying on identification information supplied by others to him but he did repeat that he had seen the alleged victim on the footpath.

The trial will resume before Judge Ronan Munro on Wednesday morning (April 22).

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