Farmer in Midlands in critical care for ten days after alleged assault on farm

A farmer spent ten days in a hospital critical care unit after an alleged “vicious and unprovoked attack” on a farm in Laois. 

William Donoghue (25) with an address at 2 The Crescent, Ballylinan, applied for bail at a sitting of Portlaoise District Court where he was served with a book of evidence. 

Garda Lisa Murray said she served the book of evidence on the accused in the courthouse. The defendant is accused of assault causing harm at Ballyfinnan, Ballylinan on April 4, 2025.  

Solicitor Michael Byrne made an application for bail on behalf of his client.

Detective Garda Mark Russell said he was objecting to bail under Section 2  based on the seriousness of the charges and the strength of the evidence and also under O’Callaghan rules, due to his concern that the defendant would fail to meet his bail. 

Det Russell said it would be alleged that a farmer was seriously assaulted on his farm in Ballyinan. He said the man had suffered from a serious head injury and had spent ten days in the critical care unit of the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise. 

Det Russell described the evidence in the case as very strong. He said a budweiser bottle and a woollen hat with a light were recovered at the scene of the alleged assault. DNA from the items matched that of the accused, he said. 

Det Russell said the defendant was seen on CCTV purchasing a twelve pack of budweiser and a woollen hat at the Centra in Ballylinan. He said CCTV also captured a car carrying the accused near the scene. He also said the accused admitted that a row had broken out with the injured party. 

“At the time of the alleged incident William Donoghue was known to be drinking heavily,” said Det Russell. 

He described the alleged assault as “a vicious and completely unprovoked attack” which has had and will continue to have a lifelong impact on the injured party. 

Solicitor Michael Byrne said his client enjoys the presumption of innocence. He said his client accepted he met the  injured party but claimed “the injured party had a four pronged fork” and had approached his client and hit his client’s dog. 

Mr Byrne claimed his client had “pushed the injured party in the chest and by way of self defence” and he claimed this may be a “feasible” defence. 

Judge Deirdre Gearty told Mr Byrne that the defence was not relevant to the bail hearing.  

Mr Byrne suggested the injuries were consistent with a fall. 

Det Russell said “the injuries were consistent with a severe laceration across the top of the temple.”

Mr Byrne said there was no evidence before the court in relation to an addiction to alcohol.  He said his client would be willing to abide by strict bail conditions. He said the accused man’s family were in court with a sum of €1,500. 

Det Russell said there are no conditions which would satisfy him. 

Mr Byrne said his client said the alleged injured party had fallen after he was pushed and his client had just walked off. He said there was no evidence of an addiction and no evidence to indicate that his client wouldn’t show up. He said the man was willing to live in Carlow, sign on daily, obey a curfew and provide a number where he can be reached at any time. 

Mr Byrne also said the prisons at the moment are totally overcrowded.  “Mr Donoghue was severely injured in Wheatfield Prison a month or two ago arising out of, I would say, overcrowding.” 

He said the overcrowding has resulted in family and legal visits being curtailed. He said this amounted to an intrusion of his rights. 

He said the “tracking devices” would be a useful tool and “the State have been dragging their feet on this”.  

Judge Gearty said it was “a novel” argument for bail but stated that the issue was a matter for the executive and not the judiciary. She suggested Mr Byrne should meet with the Department of Justice in relation to the matter. 

She told the court she wasn’t satisfied that there were conditions which could be imposed to alleviate the concerns raised by gardai. Having heard the seriousness of the allegation and the nature of the evidence, she said she was refusing bail and she remanded the defendant in custody. 

She granted legal aid for a solicitor and two counsel in the case. The defendant was given an alibi warning before the case was sent forward to the next sittings of Portlaoise Circuit Court beginning on October 28.