The brothers of All-Ireland-winning hurler Kyle Hayes face charges in the circuit court of assault and producing a weapon, namely a hurley.
Cian Hayes, 24, and Daragh Hayes, 37, of Ballyashea, Kildimo, Co Limerick, were charged following an alleged assault in Ballyashea on September 29, 2021. But a last-minute change of solicitors resulted in an adjournment of the trial until October 21.
Both brothers have been charged with assault causing serious harm contrary to Section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
They have also both been charged with producing a weapon.
Barrister for the State, Lily Buckley, BL, said that Darragh Hayes had decided to change his solicitor last night and applied to adjourn the trial to allow his new legal representative, Edmund Dillon, time to get the necessary papers.
Judge Elva Duffy said that the trial would have priority and the changing of a solicitor “cannot interfere with that”. “Your client needs to know that this will not happen again,” she said, warning that she would not sanction a second adjournment for a change of legal team.
She adjourned the case until October 21. She said that she would assume that all legal teams would “be ready to go” at that stage. She noted that the alleged injured party was present in court.
She declined to set another date for the case to be mentioned in the meantime. Both Cian Hayes and Daragh Hayes attended Limerick Circuit Court on Monday.
Their brother Kyle Hayes was also in Limerick Circuit Court as a suspended sentence for violent disorder may be re-activated after he was convicted of dangerous driving in Cork last month. He has appealed the dangerous driving conviction so the Section 99 hearing on whether his suspended sentence could be triggered was adjourned until December 9.