Man faces court over alleged baseball bat attack

A man was due to appear in court today charged in connection with a violent clash in which another man was struck in the head with a baseball bat and left fighting for his life.

Gardaí had yesterday appealed to the public not to post footage or images of the incident on social media but to turn it over to investigators.

The injured party, aged in his forties, remains in a critical condition in Dublin's Beaumont Hospital following the incident which took place at lunchtime on Thursday on a busy main street in the suburb of Swords.

Exactly what prompted the confrontation between the men, both of whom are from Nigeria, remains under investigation and it is unclear what if any relationship they had prior to the incident.

The second man, aged in his 30s, was held in custody at Coolock Garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and was due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning at 10.30am.

Gardaí arrived at the scene of the fight outside a taxi office in Swords at 12.20pm and discovered the injured party on the ground with a serious head injury. He was rushed to hospital where he continues to receive medical attention. A family liaison officer has been appointed.

Due to the time and location of the incident, it is likely there were several witnesses.

Earlier today, gardaí launched an appeal for information and urged anyone who had taken images of the fight on mobile phones not to upload them to social media but to turn them over to the investigation team.

Supt Ronan Galligan at Swords Garda station also appealed for anyone within the Nigerian community who may be able to shed some light on the situation to come forward.

There was a further appeal for members of the public who were on Main Street in Swords at around noon to make themselves known to gardaí at Swords or to contact any station.