Jonathan Dargan, former coach of UFC champion Conor McGregor, confessed to killing a 57-year-old man who tried to break up a street fight between Dargan and several others in Ireland.
According to a report by Independent.ie, Jonathan Dargan, who used to be UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s taekwondo coach, was arrested for fatally punching a 57-year-old man during an apparent drunken altercation between Dargan and his girlfriend, which soon involved other civilians.
Dargan, who works as a nightclub doorman in Dublin, Ireland, was reportedly in a “low mood” because it was the eve of Mother’s Day (March 6th); his mother was shot to death two years ago. As the article notes, sources alleged that the altercation began as he and his girlfriend left a concert, with Dargan apparently driving while drunk.
Sources close to Dargan have said he left Lillie’s after being out with his partner and got into his car, which he had intended leaving in town for the night. They had earlier been to the Adele concert.
“His girlfriend had been pleading with him not to drive but he was too far gone to listen. It was 3.30am and Jonathan had been drinking since 8pm,” the source said.
“He pulled over in Harold’s Cross and she got out of the car. He went back to try and convince her to get back into the car and found her at a bus stop, and the argument started again.”
The heated argument between the couple attracted the attention of other people. One of them was 57-years old Paddy Mullally, who was coming back from his retirement party. After Mullally intervened and tried to defuse the situation, he was hit in the head by Dargan and fell down. Mullally suffered a severe head injury by hitting the ground and died a day later.
It is understood that Dargan told gardai they were first approached by a man on a bicycle who asked what was going on and that Dargan had cursed at him.
Dargan then recalled that there were two or three people around him.
It is believed he told gardai that he hit one of them and had a row with a second man before another person tried to drag him away.
After he got out of this person’s grip he thinks he hit Paddy, grabbed his girlfriend and got back into his car.
When Dargan awoke in the morning, sources say he had “little recollection of what happened and went to work on Saturday night as normal.” Later, on his way home, Jonathan drove into the gas station to fill in the car and noticed the police inquiring the drivers about the incident. At that moment, Dargan understood what had happened and told the police “he believed he was the man they were looking for.” Once at the police station, Dargan was told that Paddy Mullally had died shortly after their confrontation.
“I’m so sorry. It was an accident,” said Dargan. “I’m devastated and heartbroken for that man and his family. All I can say is I’m crushed. If I could take back everything that happened that night I would, but all I can do is beg his family for their forgiveness. It was a genuine mistake.”
The Dargan case is now being processed by the local Director of Public Prosecutions. Mullally’s funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15th.