Kyle Hayes victim's mother says 'her son may not be alive' if it wasn't for gardai
Elaine McCarthy's son Cillian suffered serious facial injuries following the incident
The mother of the man attacked by Kyle Hayes in 2019 says she is “absolutely disgusted” the Limerick hurler received an All-Star award as she told of the impact of the assault on her family.
Elaine McCarthy's son Cillian suffered serious facial injuries, including a fractured eye socket, following the incident in Limerick five years ago.
Hayes won his fifth All-Star last Friday and was also on the three-man shortlist for for hurling player of the year. However, he lost out to Clare’s Shane O'Donnell for the honour.
READ MORE: Historic PwC All Star hurling team selection as one province dominates
READ MORE: Limerick hurler Kyle Hayes faces long wait before he finds out if he'll be jailed
The 26-year-old received a suspended sentence in March for violent disorder before being given a two-year driving ban for dangerous driving in September. He will find out in December if he is going to jail for re-entry of the two-year suspended sentence which was triggered in September after Hayes was convicted of dangerous driving before Mallow District Court.
Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard last month that the section 99 hearing could not be heard on the day because Hayes was appealing the conviction for dangerous driving.
"His eye was put back into his head, his face was full of blood. I just went, oh my lord, what happened you?,” Ms McCarthy told Joe Duffy on RTÉ's Liveline.
“He was very hard working and enjoyed life and then he just became totally withdrawn, totally into himself, cross, which wouldn’t be like Cillian.
“The kicks that were put to Cillian’s head were ferocious. He was lying on the ground in the foetal position and covering his head asking them to stop. The more he asked them to stop, the more ferocious their kicks got.
“Only for the gardaí arriving on that night, Cillian may not be alive today.”
Ms McCarthy claimed that the Limerick hurler never apologised to her son after the attack and says that an apology now would be “a little too late, it’s five years too late”.
She added: “We’ve all suffered mentally as well. [My son] didn’t ask to be beaten. He didn’t ask to be kicked. He went out for a few drinks with his friends - he didn’t come home the same way he went out,” she said.
“That Kyle can go into a few hospices and hospitals and parade the Liam MacCarthy, [that] doesn’t take away what he did to Cillian.”
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