'What if it was your father?' - father and sons not guilty of public order offence in shopping centre
The father and sons appeared at Waterford Circuit Court.
A father and his sons have been found not guilty of committing a violent public order offence after a trial in Waterford.
Patrick Duggan, and his sons Sean and Matthew Whiteley, were found not guilty after a two-day trial at Waterford Circuit Court.
They were originally charged with committing an offence contrary to Section 15 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. The incident occurred at Dungarvan Shopping Centre on the morning of November 15, 2023. Defence barrister Mark O'Hagan BL represented Matthew Whiteley, Paul W. Hutchinson BL represented Mr Duggan and Gareth Hayden BL represented Sean Whiteley.
CCTV footage from the shopping centre showed the three men walking into the building. Two figures, later revealed to be a mother and her adult son, followed the men into the centre. The son was carrying a whip meant for horses.
Footage showed the woman and man appearing to make comments from behind the defendants. At one point, Mr Duggan is seen moving towards the pair and saying something back, but then continuing to walk onwards.
CCTV captured another man rushing in to confront Mr Duggan. The man, later identified as John Harty (53), of Shandon Halting Site, Dungarvan, headbutted and punched Mr Duggan in the head. The assault prompted Sean and Matthew Whitely to intervene physically. (Harty previously pleaded guilty to a similar charge of public order.)
The men can be seen engaged in a physical altercation next to the large decorative Christmas tree in the centre foyer. The skirmish lasted under a few minutes.
On the footage, Mr Duggan could be seen with blood on his face. Gardaí were alerted and quickly attended the scene but the involved parties had already left the premises.
The defendants were detained by Gardaí a few days after the incident, and declined to make voluntary statements.
Gardaí were able to identify the defendants through security footage. A Garda witness told the Court that the parties were engaged in a 'family feud'.
State Prosecutor Conor O’Doherty asked the jury to consider whether the three defendants applied a legitimate use of force.
"It’s the prosecution’s case when you look at Patrick, Sean and Matthew, they are engaging at various stages in unlawful violence,” he said to the panel.
Defence Counsel for Patrick Duggan, Paul W Hutchinson BL, said that Duggan’s body language was “not offensive or aggressive” during the ordeal, and that he attempted to de-escalate rather than escalate.
"It’s my submission that Mr. Duggan wasn’t going out looking for a fight,” he told the court.
Defence counsel for Matthew Whitely and Sean Whiteley, Mark D O’Hagan BL and Gareth Hayden BL, both said that their clients were protecting their father from a “violent assault”.
Mr. O’Hagan asked the jury what they would have done "if it was your father on that November morning?" He also said that the two sons “reacted as humans”.
Mr. Hayden said it was a case that was "crying out" for common sense to be applied from the jury.
"This isn’t somebody out for a row,” Mr. Hayden said of Shaun Whiteley.
After several hours of deliberation, the jury of six men and six women returned unanimous verdicts of not guilty for each defendant. John Harty will be sentenced later this month.
