Thirty-four-year-old Martin Keenan, of 81 Ardnacassa Avenue, Longford appeared at a sitting of Longford District Court on Tuesday night charged with violent disorder and the production of a shovel during the course of a fight at Deanscurragh, Longford last Thursday morning.
His arrest and subsequent court appearance comes four days after husband and wife David Joyce (28) and Winnie Keenan (28) both of 35 Palace Crescent, Ardnacassa, Longford were charged with violent disorder with Joyce also facing a count of producing a shovel and red handled screener.
Joyce was ultimately remanded in custody following a contested bail hearing at Mullingar District Court last Friday.
The victim, Patrick Stokes, has since undergone two operations at Dublin’s Mater Hospital after the young father was airlifted to hospital with a stab wound to his stomach.
Keenan was arrested after presenting himself at Longford Garda Station Tuesday afternoon shortly before 3:30pm.
Garda Gerard Mallarkey said the accused made no reply to both charges when they were put to him, adding that the State were objecting to bail under both O’Callaghan Rules and Section 2 of the Bail Act, 1997.
He said those objections were based on a number of factors, most notably the seriousness of the charges, the strength of the State’s evidence alongside investigating gardaí’s belief the incident had stemmed from an ongoing feud.
Garda Mallarkey said it will be the State’s case the accused exited a lorry at the entrance to the Deanscurragh housing estate before arming himself with a shovel and running in tandem with a number of other individuals towards Mr Stokes.
He said the accused had been identified by a number of gardaí on CCTV and from video footage, the contents of which were played in open court before Judge Bernadette Owens.
Martin Keenan.
That footage appeared to show three individuals running through the entrance to the local housing estate at 9:30am with cries of ‘yes, yes’ being heard.
The court was also told a number of implements had also been retrieved in follow-up searches by gardaí including a shovel which they believe the accused had armed himself with on the day of the incident.
Judge Owens was also told clothes Keenan had allegedly been dressed in on the day of the incident had not been retrieved with gardaí remaining of the view they had been disposed of.
Keenan’s mobile phone was also at large, Garda Mallarkey added, while revealing Mr Stokes’ wife had informed gardaí that approaches had been made towards her husband to refrain from cooperating with the ensuing garda investigation.
Garda Mallarkey also stated a lorry which was registered in Keenan’s name and which gardaí believed the Longford man had been driving on the morning of the incident had similarly been seized.
Those searches the court heard, allied to contentions by Garda Mallarkey that it was “likely” further charges would be brought in due course, were key further key components to the State’s objections to bail.
In defence, Fiona Baxter said she found it “quite remarkable” the State had not yet obtained a single independent statement to corroborate the one which had been taken from Mr Stokes’ wife identifying Keenan at the scene.
Garda Mallarkey replied, saying the investigation was still at an early stage and that the State had not yet been able to take a statement from Mr Stokes owing to the fact he has since undergone two surgeries in hospital.
Ms Baxter also said if her client wanted to evade justice, he had every chance to in the five days since last Thursday’s incident but chose not to or to dispose of the vehicle which was now in the Gardaí’s possession.
The local solicitor continued by insisting there was no definitive evidence put forward by the State to suggest the incident was part of an ongoing feud or that her client was caught up in such a dispute.
Equally, and while contending Keenan enjoyed the presumption of innocence and his constitutional right to liberty, Ms Baxter said it was “impossible” to positively identify her client on both the CCTV and mobile phone footage the State were relying on.
She said Keenan was willing to reside outside of Longford, abide by a curfew conditions and tender a €5,000 lodgement in terms of meeting any bail conditions set down by the court.
Those submissions were, however, rejected by both Garda Mallarkey and State court presenter Sgt Enda Daly who described the episode as being an “outrageous incident” that had unfolded as young children were being dropped off at St Joseph’s National School.
Judge Bernadette Owens, in delivering her verdict, said while the State had failed to meet the required threshold under O’Callaghan Rules, it had in terms of Section 2 of the Bail Act and refused bail.
She consequently remanded Keenan in custody to appear back via video link at a sitting of Longford District Court next Tuesday.
