A Belfast man and a Dungannon construction firm have entered mixed pleas to charges surrounding the tragic death of a rising GAA player.
Standing in the dock of Newry Crown Court, 37-year-old John Fagan denied causing the death of Joshua Griggs by dangerous driving on Foxleigh Fields in Banbridge on 8 June 2021 as well as an offence under health and safety legislation in that “being an employee, he failed to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work.”
Standing alongside him 44-year-old Patrick McKenna, a director for Contract Services Dng Ltd, from the Bovean Road in Dungannon, entered a guilty plea to a single count of failing to ensure, “as far as was reasonably practical,” the health and safety and welfare of employees.
Joshua Griggs (19) from Newmills, just outside Coalisland died following an incident involving a lorry in the Foxleigh Fields area of Banbridge on June 8.
Known to his friends as Josh, the teenager was a talented young GAA star and youth team coach and had been awarded Reserve Player of the Year for his club Brackaville Owen Roes just a few weeks before the tragic incident.
In court on Monday, prosecuting KC Charles MacCreanor said there was a provisional trial date set for September 18, adding that the hearing would take around a week.
Defence KC Greg Berry, on behalf of Fagan, told Judge Gordon Kerr KC that similar to the PPS, he had instructed an expert engineer to produce a report regarding the incident.
Frank O’Donoghue KC, acting on behalf of Contract Services, said while he would be lodging the “relevant accounts and literature” relating to the defendant company, he conceded the sentencing would have to wait until Fagan’s trial had concluded.
Judge Kerr said he would review the case against Fagan, from Dalriada Park in Belfast, on June 12.