Security guard tells trial he was cut with meat cleaver and doused in petrol during Strokestown eviction attack

A security guard gave evidence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court regarding an attack on a repossessed farm at Falsk, near Strokestown, County Roscommon, on 16 December 2018. The witness told the court he was struck repeatedly, cut on the legs with a meat cleaver, doused in petrol, and bound with cable ties during an assault by a large group of armed men. The incident occurred five days after the property's repossession. Four men—Patrick Sweeney of County Donegal, Martin O'Toole of County Mayo, Paul Beirne of County Roscommon, and David Lawlor of County Meath—have each pleaded not guilty to 17 charges including false imprisonment, assault causing harm, aggravated burglary, arson, violent disorder, and robbery. The trial is ongoing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Under cross-examination, counsel challenged inconsistencies between the witness's account to gardaí and his testimony regarding events in the kitchen during the attack.