THE partner of a man who died after being punched outside a nightclub has hit out at the judge who acquitted the accused in his manslaughter trial.
Last week, mum-of-two Kirsty-Cyane McGill set up an online petition calling for the resignation of Judge Martin Nolan, which has so far received more than 12,000 signatures and has been shared on social media.
Christopher Fitzgerald, 34, from Drogheda, Co Louth, was punched three times to the ground outside the Wright Venue in Swords in 2017, the third punch was the most damaging, according to medical evidence.
However, despite the entire incident being caught on CCTV, as well as hospital reports, Judge Martin Nolan acquitted Daniel Fitzgerald — the man accused of his manslaughter.
He ruled the CCTV evidence did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Daniel didn’t act in self defence — therefore it could not be put to the jury and he was acquitted.
‘NOTHING WILL BRING HIM BACK’
Speaking to the Irish Sun last night Kirsty-Cyane said: “I set up the petition up after I read that he (Judge Nolan) gave three suspended sentences to three separate men, one of whom was Veronica Guerin’s brother, Martin, who was caught with child pornography. It absolutely infuriated me.
“There is no judicial council in Ireland. I think that is so wrong — for 2019, it is so backwards.
“I still can’t believe what happened in Christopher’s case. Nothing will bring him back, but at least there’d be some sort of closure or justice, but we have nothing.
“Other cases haven’t been caught on camera but this was — and there was medical evidence to prove how he died.
“Christopher just kept falling and on the third punch he fell again and that was it.”
MEETING REQUESTED
Kirsty-Cyane has said she has since contacted the Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan requesting a meeting with him.
She said medical evidence showed that Christopher died following the incident and that it had been caught on camera.
Kirsty-Cyane added: “I have lost all faith in the judicial system, my country has let me down, there is no justice for Christopher.
“It is going around in my head all the time, I have not been able to cope properly, I can’t return to work, it has affected everything. I believe it’s completely wrong.”
Christopher was struck on May 6, 2017, and placed on life support in nearby Beaumont hospital, where he sadly passed away two days later.
ACQUITTED
Daniel Fitzgerald, from Blanchardstown in Dublin, was charged with the unlawful killing of Christopher, but was acquitted at the Criminal Courts of Justice earlier this year.
Judge Martin Nolan has hit the headlines over the past number of years following a number of sentences he handed down.
Another online petition was set up calling for his resignation in 2013 and 2,000 people signed it.
At the time, he had given a suspended sentence to a former civil servant who was found to have more than 7,000 indecent images of children on his laptop.
Last month, he passed sentence on Martin Guerin, from Portmarnock Drive, Dublin, for knowingly possessing 901 images and 146 video files of child pornography at his home in September 2014.
Judge Martin Nolan said the court should consider a non-custodial sentence for cases of this nature in which there were no aggravating factors such as previous convictions.
He added that the mitigating factors included Guerin’s guilty plea, his cooperation with gardai, his immediate admissions, good work history and his lack of any previous convictions.
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He handed him a two-and-a-half-year jail term but suspended the sentence entirely on condition he keep the peace and be on good behaviour.
In 2012, Nolan jailed ‘Garlic man’ Paul Begley for six years after admitting labelling more than 1,000 tons of garlic imported from China as apples, which have a lower tax rate.
Last month, he jailed a 25-year-old female teacher for a year for having sex with a secondary school student.
