A man working for RTE has been awarded more than £23,000 following an attack on him at a funeral in Cork city three years ago.
The sound engineer, who worked full-time in Cork for RTE, has not worked since, Cork Circuit Civil Court heard yesterday.
Mr Brian O'Mahony, of Maryborough Hill, Douglas, was attacked while recording the funeral of murdered criminal Michael Crinnion. He sued RTE for damages and the station admitted liability.
Judge Carroll Moran heard how Mr O'Mahony had to jump 10 feet from the roof of a building across the road from the church in Togher.
He was then beaten by "frenzied" mourners. His nose was fractured, teeth were broken and he had head injuries. Later he developed a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mr O'Mahony said he had worked in Northern Ireland for a time with RTE and while there were difficult situations there, "they were nothing like we encountered in Togher".
He, cameraman Mr Tony Cournane and reporter Sean Whelan were sent to cover the funeral. "I was reluctant to go there because of incidents with the media at the removal the night before," Mr O'Mahony said.
He and the cameraman were on the health centre roof. The reporter remained on the ground. "While we were waiting for the mourners to come out, I expressed anxiety that there was no visible Garda presence and this was unsatisfactory as far as our safety was concerned," he said.
At 3.20 p.m. the funeral procession came out and a group separated from the hearse. They were gesticulating and shouting. The dead man's brother climbed on to the roof and asked if they had no respect for the dead.
"He grabbed the camera equipment and wrestled with it and Tony. Another man grabbed my sound equipment. He smashed it off the roof and grabbed the camera tripod which was extended 4 or 5 feet.
"He was using it like a club and he forced me to the side of the roof. I jumped because I feared for my life and landed on the ground stunned. I was immediately attacked," said Mr O'Mahony.
He said he was kicked and punched and when he finally managed to stand up he ran to a nearby estate. Mr O'Mahony said he asked to be discharged from hospital after his injuries were treated. When he got home he was in fear and had a tremendous sense of isolation. He was afraid of callers to his home and feared that he and his family would be attacked by relatives and friends of the men who attacked him because his assailants were later jailed.
Towards the end of June, about 10 weeks after the April 12th, 1995 assault he contacted RTE to say he was available for work. "I have never got steady work from RTE since that time," he said. He worked with a sub-contractor occasionally but had never received official acknowledgment from his employers regarding work as he had done before.
Mr Jim Duggan, for RTE, said Mr O'Mahony was a freelance soundman regularly employed by RTE. He had worked with a cameraman also injured in the attack who was out of action as a result. RTE had replaced him with a man from Sligo and another soundman worked with him.
Mr Duggan rejected claims that RTE did not want to employ Mr O'Mahony. Indeed in May 1996, an advertisement had appeared in newspapers and the RTE Guide offering various positions including that of a soundman. He said that Mr O'Mahony had not applied for this position.
The judge said he had been asked to ignore the fact that Mr O'Mahony had been out of work and the apparent disappointment he suffered with the defendants' treatment of him.
He said: "This unfortunate man suffered serious injuries as a result of this incident and is still suffering from depression."
He said RTE had admitted liability and all he had to decide was the level of damages. He said Mr O'Mahony was the victim of a "very bad attack and assault".
He awarded Mr O'Mahony damages of £23,770 which included a figure of £6,770 special damages for continuing medical and dental work.