A man who killed a former Republic of Ireland youth soccer star in an assault during a dispute over a bag of cans has been jailed for seven years, with the final year suspended.
Michael Casey, who pleaded guilty to Alan Bourke’s manslaughter, was previously convicted for breaking into the home of an elderly man who suffered a fatal heart attack during the burglary.
Casey (40), with an address at Cathedral Place, Limerick City, admitted fatally assaulting Alan Bourke (48), from St Mary’s Park, Limerick, at Parnell Street in Limerick City on April 15th, 2022.
Paramedics tended to Mr Bourke at the scene, however, he was pronounced dead on the way to University Hospital Limerick.
Mr Bourke, a former manager at a tool plant, had fallen on hard times due to struggles with alcohol, the court heard.
A talented striker, Mr Bourke won a Munster Junior Cup medal with Mungret Regional FC in 1994 and was capped for the Republic of Ireland junior team in 1996.
On the night he died, Mr Bourke and a friend left sheltered accommodation in Limerick City to go begging in order to get money to buy alcohol, the court heard.
CCTV footage played to the court showed Mr Bourke wheeling his bicycle and a suitcase containing clothes and a sleeping bag as he went to meet up with his friend again.
He had purchased 10 cans of beer and was walking near Colbert Train Station when he was accosted by Casey and others.
'Aggressive blow'
Prosecuting counsel Anne Rowland SC said Casey struck Mr Bourke with a “violent and aggressive blow” after another man who was in Casey’s company, who was not before the court, had allegedly taken his bag of cans and would not give it back.
Mr Bourke fell backwards and hit his head off the pavement, the CCTV footage showed.
Casey and the others “callously” walked away with Mr Bourke’s bike and bag of beer cans, Ms Rowland said.
“He was lying on the ground completely motionless, they casually made their way off.”
A post-mortem examination on Mr Bourke’s body confirmed he suffered a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage in the fall. He also sustained bruising to his face and forehead during the assault.
Casey, who faced a single charge of manslaughter, told gardaí after his arrest: “It was an accident. I was friends with Alan, we laughed and cried together. I hit him. I was drunk, he was drunk.”
He added: “I’m really sorry, and sorry to his family.”
A victim impact statement written by Mr Bourke’s sister, Diane, read: “Alan was a loving son, father and friend to man, and our lives have changed forever.
“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.
“To this day I avoid Parnell Street at all costs. It is awful to be scared all the time in your own city. I’m not Alan’s sister anymore, I’m the girl whose brother was killed.”
Judge Dermot Sheehan said Mr Bourke had excelled at sport, but was vulnerable later in his life, experiencing homelessness around the time of his death.
“It was a significant assault, it was a dispute over a bag of cans,” the judge noted.
Judge Sheehan said Casey should have been “forewarned” about the serious consequences of committing crime after he had been convicted for burglary in 2016.
