'They both stretched out my leg and Daragh swung at me with the wrench just below the kneecap - Read full victim impact statement in Hayes brothers' case

THE MAN beaten by Daragh and Cian Hayes said the brothers deliberately lured him to a house with a view to viciously beat and interrogate him. 

Ciaran Ryan (pictured below) read out his victim impact statement at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court this Thursday, saying as some of his physical injuries have healed, the psychological carnage to him and his family have been the most pronounced and oppressive.  

“It is like a veil of darkness descended on me that day for no reason, a darkness that still lingers and lingers in my parish until now but Cian and Daragh have yet to apologise to me.

“Due to the level of trust I had in them, after being invited, I happily attended at Daragh's home to discuss Cian’s upcoming wedding. I now know that they deliberately lured me there with a view to viciously beat me and interrogate me. As some of my physical injuries have healed, I still remain with ongoing injuries.

EVENING OF THE ATTACK

“On the evening in question of this brutal, vicious, and inhumane attack against my life, beaten viciously and inhumanely to a near fatal end, it was midweek. I was at work in Limerick when I was exchanging text messages with Daragh, who was inviting me up to his house to discuss and plan an upcoming wedding.

“I was asked by Daragh to try and get there before 7pm as he had cows to milk. I  got to the door and was greeted by Daragh. He was welcoming and he ushered me into the home. I sat on the couch facing Cian Hayes. I said my hellos. Cian's words were, ‘We are not here to talk about the wedding’. And he proceeded to ask me, 'What is going on with you and (named female)'?

“I responded, ‘What are you talking about?’ Immediately, Cian said, ‘Right Daragh’. Cian leaned behind the couch and picked up the big spider wrench. Daragh picked up a hurley, and without explanation, they beat me like they wanted me dead.

“They kept asking me about a phone call as they were beating me that I received in the early hours of the morning months previously. I was so focused on Cian, as he had the more forceful weapon, which I was convinced was going to be the death weapon and which ultimately caused me the most harm.  

“I tried to protect my face from the strikes from Cian - the venom in his eyes terrified me, and as a result of these heinous attacks and deadly blows, I now have steel plates in my left arm.

“I am left handed and can no longer complete tasks to 100% with this hand. As a carpenter by trade, this has been detrimental for me. As a result of me protecting my face, with my hands so much, Cian focused his attention then on my ribs and lung area. As a result of this, he shattered a number of my ribs and punctured my lung.

“All the while, Daragh was beating me on the other side of my body with a hurley. Daragh beat me so hard with the hurley that it snapped. I couldn't catch my breath. I didn't know what was going on or how I could escape. I thought I was going to die.  

“They broke several of my fingers. At one point, Daragh grabbed the spider wrench from Cian and they pinned me down and I was sure they were going to finish me off. They both stretched out my leg and Daragh swung at me with the wrench just below the kneecap

“The force broke the biggest bone in my leg under my kneecap. At this point, I was battered on both sides of my body, between my arm, lungs, ribcage, legs on either side, and fingers. The medical report showed the severe extent of my injuries.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t mind him, he can breathe’ - hurley broken in assault by Hayes brothers on close friend

PHONE CALL

“I was begging them to stop. I managed to pull some words together, and I said, ‘The only time I got a call from (named female) was when I was at a family wedding in Doolin'. She saw that on my Snapchat. She happened to be in Doolin village too and she contacted me innocently. We never met up. Cian then said, ‘Daragh, Ciaran is telling the truth. He was at a cousin's wedding in Doolin. I remember it’. 

“Daragh started pacing up and down the room saying, ‘Cian, we went too far, we went too far’, as he was crying. He said, ‘What will we do? What will we do to him?’. Cian showed absolutely zero remorse. They then called out conditions to me as Daragh was beating me with the broken hurley.

“I thought he was going to stab me with the spike of the broken hurley. I asked at one stage, ‘What am I going to do?’ Cian says, ‘I don't give a fuck what you do but you won't be telling anyone we did this to you or else’. Daragh told me some conditions which I distinctly remember as he was beating me with the hurley.

CONDITIONS

“Some of the conditions were, your father cannot go into the petrol station for diesel. You, Ciaran, can't be seen anywhere in Kildimo. The consequences will be that we will blow in your girlfriend's windows or we will get you. I was lying in a pool of my own blood. I thought I was going to bleed out. They managed to lift me up while saying, ‘You'll be fine, Ciaran, you'll be fine’.

“Cian dragged me out of the house, sat me into my car which I recently purchased from their brother Kyle Hayes as I had given Kyle a free courtesy car as a sponsorship deal. I couldn't feel my hands. They took the key out of my pocket and realised it was bent around my leg. Daragh went to his van to get tools to straighten out the key.

“As Cian threw my belongings into the car, like my broken watch, my broken phone bent in the shape of a half moon around my legs. As the use of my body was very limited, I couldn't start the car. They did all that, and even put the car in gear for me and told me, ‘Go on, get out of here’. I had the use of maybe two of my fingers out of ten. On a phone call, on my other phone which wasn't broken, my work phone, I arranged for my girlfriend to get me in a place nearby on the road we call puncture road. 

“I don't remember much of that drive. I was unconscious in some parts as I remember hitting the ditch on some occasions. My girlfriend battled through her shock and horror at what she saw when she arrived to get me. She struggled to lift me from my car into hers, but she managed this, and got me into hospital.

READ MORE: Hayes brothers' victim drove car with broken leg, fractured ribs, punctured lung and broken fingers after beating

HOSPITAL

“When we arrived at the hospital, my girlfriend pulled up in the ambulance bay and ran in to get the staff to come out and get me out of the car. They had to pull me by the head to get me out of the car as I did not have the use of my legs or hands and I was screaming from the pain.  I spent days in the hospital not telling the gardai who it was that did it to me because I was in so much fear over the threats that they had told me.

“I was scared for my girlfriend, my family and my business. The guards were coming to my bedside, they understood that I was in fear from the threats, but they assured me that they would protect me if I told them the truth about who beat me  A number of days after going through the most invasive experience of my manhood, having to poo into bedpans, in agony, pain, and having several operations, I made the decision to give my statement and tell the truth.

LIFE MADE HELL

"Since this assault, my life has been hell in my local parish. The Hayes brothers made up plenty of false rumours and accusations about me. I live in Pallaskenry and work in Limerick city. You have to pass through Kildimo every day. Til’ this day I still take the long way around Kildimo - the back road to Limerick.

“I was a high level sports star and now I'm afraid to set foot in any local pitch in my parish. I played minor Gaelic football for Limerick. I have many All-Ireland medals for athletics. I played soccer at a high level against international teams. As I have a new house built in Pallaskenry, I would like to have a family, I worry all the time about my kids going to the local schools and playing as part of the local teams as I have been semi shunned out of the parish for speaking up against the Hayes brothers.

"I am currently still going to counselling. I still suffer from extreme PTSD to this day.  I'm a grown man, I still wet the bed regularly, all the while my girlfriend is lying beside me. This affects my personal dignity and my relationship. I have horrendous and vivid nightmares and suicidal thoughts.

"If I'm in a house or room alone, I always lock the doors. I  fear for my safety on a daily basis. I feel vulnerable in my own workplace as they know where I am six days a week. I am always in 100 per cent constant fear that my business and property will be targeted. Sometimes I don't even want to wake up.

"I don't want to have to avoid Kildimo, or go the long way around the back roads to go to my own workplace. I currently have my own business, I work in sales. I  spend many nights losing sleep and worrying about the financial ramifications on my business that this has caused, as well as the mental and physical ramifications. 

I am left handed, qualified carpenter, and always aspire to go back doing what I love but this has been taken from me, as I've tried to do small tasks with a hammer and the pain has been excruciating on my left hand.

CONSEQUENCES

"My ability to participate in many sports from the same capability has been taken from me, such as skiing, motorsports, and physical sports, as my reflex time is less now, and the pain in my leg and arm is too unbearable. My ability to attend events which never bothered me before has been drastically impacted such as concerts - I feel I cannot stand on my leg as I used to be able to without feeling pain and need to rest. 

"I was a very outgoing and confident person with self esteem. I love to meet people from my parish, partake in many activities within the parish and local clubs. This has all been stripped from me and my family.  This has had a severe impact on my self esteem and self worth.

"My father was a local Eucharistic minister in the parish, and now he goes to Mass elsewhere to avoid the parish. The night I was attacked, when he heard the news of my brutal beating, he had chest pains and he fainted. He could not comprehend that people who his son has known since he was 11 and was friendly with could do that to any human being. My mother was diagnosed with cancer a few months after the incident. 

"Every day I wake up, I have to relive this reality as I live in the parish. There is not a day that goes by that this does not impact me or my family. My family and I just want fair justice after everything we've been through and are constantly being put through on a daily basis.

UNWARRANTED ATTACK

"This was a total unwarranted and vicious attack and I would hope that this would never, ever happen to someone else.  I'm thankful for the loving family around me who have helped me through all of this, and the gardai who have helped me pursue this horrific incident further, and have assured me that they will protect me and that no further harm will come to me.

"The Hayes brothers disregarded all of my human rights by taking advantage of my trust in them  as long term friends and luring me to their home, trapping me there and embarking on the most heinous and brutal assault. This was a premeditated attack and I have yet to hear any semblance of apology from them."

Reporter’s note - Senior counsel for Daragh and Cian Hayes both apologised later in the court hearing on behalf of their clients