WHIPLASH politician Alan Farrell played a football game during the period he claimed he suffered pain from injuries following a minor car prang.

The Irish Sun revealed Fine Gael TD Farrell sued for up to €15,000 — but only got €2,500 after a judge ruled in July 2018 that he did not suffer a “significant injury” and branded his case “unusual”.

4 Alan Farrell, circled, played a match on July 19, 2016

4 The TD took to social media after the game

We told how the close ally of Leo Varadkar also went up a ladder with an election poster during the time he claimed he suffered neck and shoulder injuries.

And today we can reveal Farrell, 41, took part in a match in sweltering heat within the 18-month window he said neck and shoulder injuries continued to “flare up” and affect his personal and professional life following the crash in Drumcondra, Dublin, on April 9, 2015.

The Public Accounts Committee member was part of an Oireachtas team that took on a Bar Council selection at DIT’s Grangegorman campus on July 19, 2016.

A source told the Irish Sun it was “a competitive game, with the tackles flying in”, adding: “There was no holding back.”

Farrell took to Twitter at the time to share a photo of him lining out. He said: “Enjoyable game this evening against The Bar of Ireland in Grangegorman.”

He added: “Tremendous 2nd half. 1:1. Not so much for the 1st half..”

Reports of the Oireachtas vs Bar Council game noted that it took place in “equatorial heat” with it being the hottest day of the year.

And Farrell was credited with a key role in the lead-up to the Leinster House side’s only goal, when he “floated a pass” to another player whose shot was “fumbled” by the goalkeeper.

The political team scored in the ensuing goalmouth scramble but lost the match 4-1.

'VERY GOOD RESULT'

In mitigation, the politicians blamed the weather, saying: “We had no substitutes and our jerseys, supplied by the FAI, were made of a heat-retaining black fabric.

"Sure we were nearly boiled alive. Under difficult circumstances, it was actually a very good result for us.”

Farrell’s compo case — revealed by us last year — recently featured on RTE’s Prime Time when he refused to comment on the matter as he was approached by a reporter on the street.

The show also addressed Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey’s dropped compo claim over a fall from a swing in Dublin’s Dean Hotel.

Dublin Fingal TD Farrell, who has previously taken a swipe at Ireland’s compo culture, brought a personal injuries claim against Hertz after a collision with one of their vehicles.

He had told how he was left in pain after being “shunted” as he sat in traffic in Drumcondra in his Audi A6.

But Naomi Sheard, the driver of the rented Hertz van, challenged his claim, insisting that “the contact was so gentle I could not have replicated it if I tried”.

The River Island visual manager testified there was “absolutely no damage to either vehicle” and told of her disbelief that “he could sustain any injury from something so light”. She said she “very gently” rolled into Farrell’s car after a large spider crawled onto her arm, causing her to take her foot off the brake in a panic.

Her work colleague Michelle Malone, a passenger, testified that she didn’t even think contact had been made between the vehicles.

SCENE PHOTOS

Dublin District Court heard in the July 2018 case that Ms Sheard took photos at the scene but Farrell did not.

Asked to point out scratches on his car from the photos, Farrell said: “It is not really clear to me.”

In response, Eve Bolster, barrister for Hertz, said: “Because it is not there.”

In his personal injury summons, Farrell said he experienced difficulty for six months following the accident, pain for up to 14 months, and also suffered occasional spasms up to 18 months on.

His summons read: “The claimant attended for three physio sessions and continued to perform daily exercises at home . . . The injury caused the claimant pain while lifting his two young children, experienced stiffness and pain at work, especially after a long working day which would be usual in his profession.

"The claimant experienced pain and stiffness whilst flying during the course of his work and his recreational exercises, particularly running, was compromised for approximately six months as a result of the injury.

“The symptoms gradually improved over a 14 month period but the claimant periodically took difene and/or diazepam and/or over the counter medication during this period when the injury flared up and experienced occasional spasm 18 months post collision, particularly whilst caring for his children.”

But contesting the case, Hertz said they were “at a loss to understand how a personal injury claim could arise”.

Ms Bolster insisted that the crash was the “most minor of accidents” and called it “a minimal impact case”.

In his ruling, Judge Michael Coghlan declared that Farrell’s injury had been “very minor” and that his case did not back up a claim for “significant whiplash”.

The judge said: “There is little or no notation to back up a claim of significant whiplash.”

MARIA'S BACK IN FULL SWING SWING-GATE TD Maria Bailey has chaired a Dail committee for the first since her controversial personal injuries claim. The Fine Gael Deputy sued Dublin’s Dean Hotel after taking a tumble off a swing on a night out but later withdrew it. The TD for Dun Laoghaire was back chairing the Housing Committee yesterday. Fine Gael has appointed a senior counsel to “establish the facts” but Leo Varadkar said he may not publish the report due to privacy issues. The Taoiseach said yesterday: “This is an internal party in- quiry, not a public inquiry, but I would have to see it first really.”

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Farrell pulled his claim for payment for damage to his car on the day of the court case — despite pushing for it for three years following the accident.

Judge Coghlan also questioned why the material damages claim had been dropped on the day.

He said: “There’s a lot of slightly unusual aspects in this case. And the fact that damages (material damages) were initially considered but not proceeded with is somewhat unusual.”

4 Fine Gael's Alan Farrell hanging poster four months after accident Credit: Social Media - Refer to Source