Garda who was off duty sues after fall at Foo Fighters concert in Slane
An off duty Garda who claims she slipped on mucky ground at Slane Castle breaking her ankle at a concert has sued in the High Court.
Rachael Goggins who was attending American rock band Foo Fighters four years ago was on her way from the toilets when she says she felt her ankle crunch and she fell forward.
She said it was her second time at the Slane concert venue and she was wearing wellies and the ground was extremely mucky.
“I remember falling forward, the guy in front of me was disgusted with me. It felt like my ankle completely crunched,” she told Mr Justice Michael Hanna.
Rachael Goggins (34) from Co Meath has sued MCD Productions the organiser of the concert and Henry Mountcharles the owner of Slane Castle.
The High Court heard that 60,000 attended the rock concert on May 20,2015.
Ms Goggins has claimed she was caused to fall on muddy and wet grass near the toilets area and food stalls.
She has claimed there was an alleged failure to install any or any adequate flooring or matting in circumstances where it was known the ground would become hazardous or a trap in the event of becoming sodden with water and cut up by significant quantities of pedestrian traffic.
It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to take sufficient steps to identify particularly hazardous areas, especially around the bar and toilet areas.
She says she was unable to leave her house for ten days after the accident and had to have surgery on her ankle. She had to use crutches for eleven weeks after the accident.
She has further claimed she missed out on job opportunities because of her injury and was unable to do overtime until December 2015.
The claims are denied.
Opening the case David McGrath SC for Ms Goggins said the weekend of the concert was a wet weekend. He said Ms Goggins has been left with an 8cm scar on her ankle.
Counsel said her claim includes loss of earnings and overtime.
In evidence Ms Goggins said she was helped to a first aid tent after she fell but when an ambulance had not arrived after three or four hours, she rang her sister who drove from Dublin to Slane.
Ms Goggins who is based at a Dublin station said the Garda public order unit got her out of the concert site in a van.
She said she was out of work from the end of May to the beginning of September.
Asked about the impact on her career while off sick, she said she was overlooked for one position and missed out on a car course where she would have been next in line.
She said her ambition was to join the armed response unit of the gardai.
The case before Mr Justice Michael Hanna continues on Wednesday.
