*Niall Gilligan.
A FARM enterprise operated by All-Ireland winning Clare hurler, Niall Gilligan recorded profits of €100,000 last year.
New accounts filed with the Companies Office for Niall Gilligan Farms Ltd show that it recorded post tax profits of €99,999 in 2024.
In July at Ennis Circuit Court, Mr Gilligan (49) of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebidge was found ‘not guilty’ by a jury of a stick assault of a then 12 year old boy at the Jamaica Inn Hostel, Sixmilebridge on October 5th 2023.
Mr Gilligan was first charged with assault causing harm of the boy in July 2024 at Ennis District Court and the new accounts show that the publicity connected to the case and Mr Gilligan’s court appearances in 2024 did little to dent profits at his thriving agricultural business last year.
The accounts show that the post-tax profits of €99,999 for 2024 follow post tax profits of €107,590 for 2023.
The profits 2024 and 2023 contributed to accumulated profits of €285,452 at Mr Gilligan’s agri-company at the end of last year.
The abridged accounts where companies are not required to provide revenues show that its current assets made up of cash and debtors last year increased from €405,039 to €496,697.
The book value of the company’s fixed assets increased from €127,641 to €131,137 while the amount owed to creditors reduced from €344,997 to €340,032.
Mr Gilligan who also operates an auctioneering business in Sixmilebridge paid his legal bills from his six day circuit court trial and related district court appearances from his own resources where no application for legal aid was made.
The buoyant 2024 enjoyed by Mr Gilligan’s farm enterprise coincided with rising beef prices and a substantial recovery in family farm income (FFI) across all farm systems in Ireland in 2024 according to a report by Teagasc.
Mr Gilligan added to his coffers last year when selling the property that was the location of the October 2023 incident, the former Jamaica Inn Hostel in Sixmilebridge to Shannon-based Atlantic Aviation Group (AAG) for the purpose of turning the property into co-living accommodation for newly hired staff.
The accommodation includes 36 en suite bedrooms for employees, along with shared recreation areas, living rooms, kitchens and gardens.
At the trial, Patrick Whyms BL for Mr Gilligan, said that on the evening in question at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Mr Gilligan “didn’t know that he was dealing with a child and did not create this situation”.
Mr Whyms, instructed by solicitor, Daragh Hassett, said that Mr Gilligan “was at the end of his tether” by the vandalism being done to a vacant property he was trying to sell.
Putting forward the defence of reasonable force against the charge, Mr Whyms said that Mr Gilligan was at the Jamaica Inn hostel on the night of October 5 “in the dark and believed that he was under siege”.
In the aftermath of the case in a newspaper interview with The Sunday Independent, the boy’s father said that he was “stunned, shocked, disgusted, deflated,” when asked to comment on his own feelings at the outcome of the trial.
Mr Gilligan was a star forward for the senior Clare hurling team which defeated Tipperary to win the 1997 All-Ireland Final and was named an All-Star in 1999.
The Sixmilebridge clubman also won two Munster titles with Clare and seven Clare SHC titles with the club.
