A witness in the trial of professional footballer Jeff Hendrick has told the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court he cannot recall becoming a menace and slagging off the Irish team in a Dublin night club in 2013.
Darren McDermott was being cross-examined on the second day of the trial of the 25-year-old Ireland international, who has pleaded not guilty to violent disorder at Harcourt Street in Dublin in October 2013.
Defence counsel for the footballer suggested Mr McDermott had become a nuisance and a menace and was calling members of the Irish team "useless" and "crap" after they had lost to Germany that evening.
A co-accused, Jonathan Doran, 26, of Kilmore Close, Artane, also pleaded not guilty to the charge of violent disorder.
In addition Mr Doran pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to Mr McDermott at the junction of Montague Street and Harcourt Street on the same date.
Yesterday Mr McDermott told the court that Mr Hendrick was removed from a Dublin nightclub after he became aggressive towards him.
He said Mr Hendrick and others were outside the club when he left and he ran to a waiting taxi but was later pulled from the taxi by Mr Hendrick.
He said he was assaulted by a number of people and suffered multiple fractures to his jaw and had his teeth smashed. He had emergency surgery for his injuries and is still receiving medical attention, he said.
During cross-examination today, defence counsel for Mr Hendrick Sean Gillane asked Mr McDermott if he remembered becoming a menace, getting "touchy-feely" and putting his arms around the necks of people and getting them in head locks.
He said it was like "a silent movie" because Mr McDermott said he could not remember a syllable of what they spoke about that night before Mr Hendrick asked him to leave his company.
Mr Gillane asked the witness if he remembered slagging off the Irish team, who had lost against Germany that night, and calling them "useless".
He said he did not remember doing this. He said it was just small talk and his memory of the night only "triggered" after Mr Hendrick got aggressive.
He asked if he remembered slagging off Mr Hendrick's family. Mr McDermott said: "No, definitely not."
Mr Gillane asked Mr McDermott if he had become a nuisance and a menace. The witness replied "to him maybe". He accepted that Mr Hendrick "wanted him out of his company".
Mr Gillane said Mr Hendrick had used "agricultural" language and told him to f*** off.
Mr Gillane said Mr Hendrick was "full of booze" and he was happy to say that on his behalf.
He said it was "effectively a drunken handbags between two people in a nightclub which is fairly run of the mill."
Mr McDermott agreed and said if it had ended like that he probably would never have mentioned it again.
Mr Gillane said outside the nightclub Mr Hendrick had waited for his friends to come out and had shouted drunkenly at Mr McDermott that he had ruined his night.
Mr McDermott did not agree that it was just "more drunken handbags, fellas shouting at each other in drink".
He said it "got a lot more aggressive outside" and there was a lot more threatening abuse coming his way from more than just Mr Hendrick.
Mr Gillane suggested Mr Hendrick was not one of those at that time, he was further down the road. Mr McDermott replied: "No he was one of them, they were all there as a group."
Mr McDermott said he blamed Jeff Hendrick for everything that happened to him that night because he was the one who got aggressive and pulled him from the taxi.
He said it was a "complete lie" to suggest that Mr Hendrick had not pulled him from the taxi.
He denied that he had accused Mr Hendrick of saying "I'll kill you" for the first time in this case, having never previously mentioned it in any of his five statements to gardaí.
"Those words are absent from every statement you have given. They were introduced for a reason, so the 12 members of the jury would take a lesser view of him and might damn him because those words were said."
Mr Gillane suggested to him that he had an animus towards Mr Hendrick, that he was anxious to blame him because he was suing him for damages.
The witness confirmed he was taking a civil action as he was entitled in law to do so.
He denied that part of his animus towards the footballer was directed towards affecting his career and trying to bring him down.
"No, that is the last thing I want," he said, adding that he just wanted it known that what happened that night was not his fault.
Mr Gillane said "part of your agenda in this case is to ensure at every twist and turn that Hendrick is blackened front and centre".
He accepted he had sent a message to Jeff Hendrick months after the event saying "I'm looking forward to ending your career".
He also accepted he had sent a message saying "I'll dance on your brother, your mother and your dad's head. You're a scumbag."
He said he "possibly did" because there was a lot of anger and pain at the time.
However, he added, "those messages don't represent me. I am not a violent person."
He agreed the message was sent on the same day his solicitor wrote to Jeff Hendrick to sue him for damages.
Alan Kelly, a friend of Mr McDermott, told the trial that he and Mr McDermott were in Krystal nightclub when they met Mr Hendrick and his friends, some of whom Mr McDermott had coached football to in the past.
He said they were friendly and were having a laugh. He said he went to the toilet and when he returned there was an aggressive altercation taking place.
He said there was pushing and shoving and that some of the group were ganging up on Mr McDermott. He said he stepped in to try to diffuse the situation.
"All of a sudden it got quite aggressive," he said, adding that the bouncers then got involved and ushered Mr Hendrick and his friends out.
He said he and Mr McDermott decided to leave a few minutes later and saw Mr Hendrick and others at the bottom of the nightclub steps.
He said the bouncers refused to let Mr McDermott back into the nightclub. He said some of the men were shouting obscenities at Mr McDermott and pointing at him.
He said they were "all tetchy and aggressive towards him" and he tried to put him into a taxi. He said "they all chased after the taxi".
Mr Kelly said he assumed the taxi had driven off and he left the scene himself.
He said he received a phone call about ten minutes later and a woman told him that his friend was "after getting a bashing or a hiding".
Counsel for the other accused man, Jonathan Doran said his client had apologised immediately to Mr McDermott for being present that night.
Senior Counsel Michael Bowman said although he did not lay a hand on him, Mr Doran accepted he was in the lane and he should not have been.
Mr McDermott said he didn't know if he could believe him about not laying a hand on him but he was the only one of the group to make contact and apologise.
