A former chairman of Derry County GAA Board, who claimed he was seriously assaulted at the entrance to the players' tunnel after the Ulster senior football final in Clones in July 1997, has settled his High Court action against the GAA authorities and a security firm.
Mr Harry Chivers (59) had claimed he collapsed after being struck a blow to his left side by a person he assumed to be a steward. He said he later developed serious stress disorder and suffered panic attacks and eventually was medically retired from his job as a teacher.
After Mr Chivers had started but not completed his evidence yesterday, lawyers for the sides entered discussions.
Mr Justice Johnson was told later the case had been settled and the action could be struck out against all the GAA defendants. The proceedings against a representative of a security company, now in liquidation, could also be dismissed, it was stated.
A statement was then read in court by Mr Danny Murphy, secretary of the Ulster Council of the GAA. It said the GAA wished to acknowledge that Mr Chivers had given great and distinguished service. He was an individual of the highest integrity with a life-long dedication to Gaelic games.
The GAA regretted the incident and also that Mr Chivers had serious health problems resulting in his retirement from the GAA and his early retirement from teaching, the statement added.
Mr Justice Johnson said he was delighted the action had been settled. He remarked that it was difficult for the GAA to keep control on highly excitable occasions. Keeping control was practically impossible but it had to be tried.
The court had heard that, at the time of the alleged assault, Mr Chivers, of Drumsurn Road, Limavady, Co Derry, was attempting to pass through the tunnel at St Tighearnaigh's football ground to congratulate his opposite number on the Cavan County Board after the Cavan team defeated Derry by a point. A crowd of Cavan supporters had streamed on to the pitch after the final whistle.
The proceedings were against the trustees of St Tighearnaigh's GAA Club, Clones, registered owners of the ground; representatives of the Ulster Council of the GAA and national representatives of the GAA, and a representative of the security company.
Earlier, in opening the case, Mr Turlough O'Donnell SC said that, after the game, the gates beside the pitch appeared to have been opened to facilitate supporters to stream on to the field and to make their way towards the stand for the presentation of the cup.
As Mr Chivers got to the tunnel entrance, he was struck a blow to the left side of his body by a person he believed to be one of the stewards. He could not identify if the incident was intentional or unintentional.
The allegation was that the GAA had failed to organise the crowds in any serious way. The entire area should have been managed in a much more logical way. The plaintiff believed the injury would not have occurred if that had been the case.
Mr O'Donnell referred to the Code of Practice for Safety at Sports Grounds published by the Department of Education in 1996. He said it was extremely helpful in relation to stewarding large groups. The recommendation dealt with how security firms brought in for matches should be organised.
He said Mr Chivers's evidence would be that, far from banning people taking cans into the ground, they were actually selling cans in the ground. What was allowed and tolerated in the ground was completely different from the rules.
When it came to good practice, the tunnel would not have been packed by the very people who were supposed to ensure safety at the ground.
Mr O'Donnell said that, following the incident, Mr Chivers temporarily lost consciousness. Two days later his life changed completely. He drove to Galway with his wife and found his vision became impaired. He became increasingly tense. He found he had to leave a restaurant because it was crowded and he was afraid of receiving a blow.
After that, he encountered considerable problems. He had a fear in public situations of being struck. He could recognise that was an irrational fear but it was one that had taken hold of him.
He had tried to go back to work in June 1998, but in a school environment he feared receiving a blow. He retired on medical grounds on a full pension in February 1999. He never got back to teaching and found it difficult to attend football matches or go into large cities.