Former Derry star Fergal Doherty charged with manslaughter following death of Aaron Law

Father-of-two Aaron Law, 34, was found with injuries on Main Street in the village of Portglenone in the early hours of Sunday.

He died later that day in Antrim Area Hospital.

Fergal Gerard Doherty, 41, of Main Street in Portglenone, appeared before Ballymena Magistrates’ Court sitting in Antrim on Thursday.

He faced one charge of manslaughter in relation to the death of Mr Law in Portglenone on October 30.

A detective sergeant told the court the incident had taken place after Mr Law was escorted from Pat’s Bar in the village, which is owned by Doherty.

Around 20-30 people had been in the bar on Saturday night going into the early hours of Sunday, including a stag party, the officer said.

He said that Doherty and a member of door staff, when approached by police at the scene, denied having seen an assault take place, the court was told.

But Doherty was arrested later that day and gave a full account of what happened, the officer said.

He said Doherty followed the member of door staff as they escorted Mr. Law outside the bar, and intervened between the pair during what was described as a ‘verbal altercation’.

“This was in the middle of the road, Mr. Law attempted to hit Mr. Doherty and Mr. Doherty reacted by punching Mr. Law to the face causing Mr. Law to fall back on to his head and his head connecting with the road,” the police officer told the court.

Mr. Law was described as having been left lying in the middle of the road, where at one point a car had to brake to avoid colliding with him.

The police officer said a witness said Mr. Law was lying on the road for between 10 to 15 minutes before Doherty and the door staff member returned, pulled him on to the footpath and propped him against the wall of the bar.

While the court was told there is CCTV evidence, it is from a distance and of low quality.

An ambulance was called at 1.08am.

Doherty was arrested shortly after Mr. Law died in hospital at around 4.40pm on Sunday.

The officer said Doherty gave a full account of what happened during police interviews which has been corroborated by witnesses.

Police objected to bail, contending he is likely to reoffend, adding they are looking into reports of allegations of other assaults, and that there are witnesses to the weekend’s events that they have still to speak to.

Barrister Joe Brolly, acting for Doherty, objected to allegations of previous assaults being raised, saying “this is already a difficult situation where a young man has lost his life”.

He referred to “speculative incidents that haven’t been investigated”.

“It’s entirely prejudicial in the absence of any evidence that would be acceptable in a court of law,” he said.

Mr. Brolly said it was a “clear case of self-defence”.

“Aaron Law threw a punch at him, and he threw one punch back at him and Mr Law fell back and hit his head,” he told the court, contending there is no evidence that contradicts Doherty’s account of what happened.

He said later that morning when it became clear Mr. Law was very seriously injured, Doherty called Mr. Law’s brother-in-law to tell him it was him who punched Mr. Law, and that he would hand himself in to police.

Mr. Brolly said Doherty drove to his parents’ house to tell them what happened before he intended to hand himself in to police, adding that Doherty has “shown terrible grief and remorse”.

He said Doherty is a “very, very well-known young man”, having previously represented Derry, Bellaghy and Ulster playing GAA with distinction.

“He has a clear record, he has never been in any trouble with the police,” he said.

Mr. Brolly said his client has a roofing business which employs 12 men and was involved with the renovation of the Ravenhill stadium in Belfast.

“Mr. Doherty wept in the course of the interview … he had attempted to retreat at the time of the incident itself. It is a terrible, terrible tragedy,” he said.

“Mr. Doherty wants to offer his great sympathies to the family. He will no longer be taking any involvement with the pub, and the pub will remain closed now as it has done since the incident.

“In all the circumstances in this case, it is as obvious a case of self-defence as I’ve come across in 30 years of practising as a defence criminal lawyer.”

District Judge Nigel Broderick denied bail due to the live police investigation into serious allegations, that police were still to speak to some witnesses and that it is a small rural community.

“There is a concern that the court would have that there is a risk that the defendant could either interfere with the investigation or the course of justice. That was the only reason I’m not minded to admit him to bail,” he said, adding bail could be revisited when the witnesses have been spoken to.

Responding, Mr. Brolly said they intend to go to the High Court immediately to appeal against that decision.

“I am frankly at a loss,” he told the court.

The case is due to to be mentioned again on December 1.