Alan Bourke, a former Republic of Ireland junior soccer player, died from blunt force trauma to his head after being assaulted in Limerick, an inquest heard.
The 48-year-old was walking his bicycle through the city on April 15th, 2022, when he was set upon by a group who robbed and assaulted him on Parnell Street.
Mr Bourke, from St Mary’s Park, suffered a number of blows to the face and fell striking his head off the pavement during the unprovoked attack.
A postmortem found he suffered a fractured skull, brain haemorrhage as well as bruising to his face.
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Det Gda Dean Landers, of Roxboro Road garda station, told Limerick Coroner’s Court how gardaí received a 999 call about the assault and were told Mr Bourke was “unconscious but breathing”.
Mr Bourke was pronounced dead at University Hospital Limerick the following morning.
Det Gda Landers said three suspects, a woman and two men, were identified from CCTV.
One of the three, Michael Casey (41), Cathedral Place, Limerick, with more than 40 convictions, admitted Mr Bourke’s manslaughter and was jailed for six years with a year suspended in November 2023.
Mark Ryan (38), Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick, who at the time had 111 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to robbing Mr Bourke of a bag of beer cans and a bicycle. He was jailed last year for four-and-a-half years with six months suspended.
The woman who was in the company of Casey and Ryan at the time was not charged with any offence. She has since died.
An postmortem report, compiled by pathologist Dr SallyAnne Collis, said Mr Bourke’s “brain injuries were not survivable”.
“His injuries were consistent with blunt force impact to the face as a result of a punch or punches. There were no obvious offensive or defensive injuries. Injuries to the brain were considered fatal,” it said.
There was evidence of “chronic alcohol consumption” and “pneumonia”.
Mr Bourke was “in the end stages of liver disease”, which was a contributory factor in his death, the report said.
Coroner John McNamara said: “If he [Mr Bourke] hadn’t been punched, he wouldn’t have fallen.”
Addressing Mr Bourke’s family, Mr McNamara passed on his condolences and told them: “It’s been a long road that you’ve travelled and it has been difficult I’ve no doubt.
“He was a young man. I understand he was well-known in sporting circles. It’s a terribly tragic way for a life to end.”
A jury returned a narrative verdict, that Mr Bourke died on April 16, 2022, as a result of blunt force trauma from a fall after he was assaulted, in accordance with the findings of the Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Mr Bourke, a former manager at a tool hire plant, had previously excelled at soccer and rugby, but was vulnerable in his final days, struggling with alcohol addiction.
A talented striker, scoring 20 plus goals a season, Mr Bourke was capped for the Republic of Ireland junior soccer team in 1996.
Mr Bourke also won a much-sought-after Munster Junior Cup medal with Mungret Regional FC in 1994.
His sister Diane had written in a victim impact statement read out at Casey’s sentencing hearing: “Alan had the biggest heart and was the apple of his late mother’s eye. We try to remember how he lived and not how he died.”
