This article is from page 14 of the 2006-05-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
A SECURITY company director who was handed a three-month jail sentence for assaulting a man has won his appeal against conviction.
At Ennis District Court last September, Kevin Cooper (43), of Loughville, Ennis, was convicted of assaulting Michael Singleton, at The Square, Ennis, on October 23, 2004.
The jail sentence was put on hold, pending the appeal and he won this appeal at Ennis Circuit Court last week.
Mr Cooper — whose company, Avalon Security Ltd, trading as Security Services, Ennis, provides security for various pubs, nightclubs and hotels in Ennis — said he is delighted he won the appeal and says he has gone through “hell” as a result of the court case.
“My whole life has been upside down for 16 months. Everything, my work, has been held up because of this case. I have lost a lot of work because of this,” he said.
He said the closure of a number of pubs in Ennis, coupled with the conviction in court, has caused him immense hardship.
“I have lost 50 per cent of my work. I am going to try and get back some of the work I have lost,” he said.
“I am struggling now to get back business. It came to a point where I thought I would have to close down, because of the court case. It looked like I was going to be gone,” he said.
He said at one stage he had employed up to 40 people, but has let seven people go.
It emerged, in the wake of the District Court case last year, that Ennis Town Council paid Mr Cooper’s security company €100,000, for security-related activities over a five-year period.
At the time, Ennis Mayor, Councillor Frankie Neylon said that council officials and elected representatives would discuss the arrangement entered into with Mr Cooper’s company if his appeal against conviction failed.
He said if the conviction was upheld, it would create difficulties between Mr Cooper’s company and the council, but added he was entitled to due process.
Speaking yesterday, Cllr Neylon said, “The council will be taking a fresh look at it now.”