Sen Jimmy Harte was not assaulted, gardaí believe

Gardaí investigating the circumstances in which Senator Jimmy Harte (Lab) was found unconscious in the street with life-threatening head injuries believe he sustained the injuries during a fall rather than an assault.

His jacket and keys were missing for a period up until this afternoon, giving rise to fears that he may have been robbed of the jacket while injured on the ground. However, both were found in a pub on Dawson Street in Dublin’s south inner city today where he had spent some time on Friday night.

Mr Harte (55) had been attending the Republic of Ireland v Latvia football international friendly at the Aviva stadium in Ballsbridge, Dublin, on Friday evening.

He went out socialising in the city with a number of family members after the game. It is believed at around midnight he returned by taxi to an apartment in Dublin 8, which he owns and lives in when in Dublin.

However, he became injured on the street near the apartment at some point after returning there.

A large volume of CCTV footage captured in the area of Newmarket Square, Dublin 8, where Mr Harte was found, has been studied.

Detectives say all of the evidence that has emerged has suggested there was nobody else on the street or in the immediate vicinity at the time the injury was sustained.

“It’s always hard to say for absolute certain there was nobody else around but there’s been a lot of film reviewed and nothing has emerged to say he was attacked or that there was anyone even close to him at the time,” said one source.

Mr Harte was found by a passerby at 3am on Saturday just off Cork Street in the south inner city. A local man who lives in the area came across the Donegal-based politician motionless on the ground and immediately alerted the emergency services.

Mr Harte was taken by ambulance to nearby St James's Hospital. He has since been transferred across the city to Beaumont Hospital, which specialises in head and brain injuries.

The Irish Times understands he has undergone surgery for swelling to the brain and also suffered a fracture to his skull and a brain clot.

Sources familiar with his condition said Mr Harte was in a medically induced coma in Beaumont which medical staff would try to wake him from either tomorrow or Tuesday. The same sources said while he was gravely ill, the outlook was positive.

Gardaí have traced the man who raised the alarm and have ruled him out of their inquiries. The CCTV footage gathered from the area suggests no third party involvement.

Those close to Mr Harte believe he may have had an episode linked to a recent heart condition and fallen on the street, sustaining the head injuries as he fell.

Kevin Street gardaí are investigating the incident.

A keen sportsman, Mr Harte has run 12 marathons in the past and has raised over €30,000 for a number of charities, including MS Ireland, Autism Donegal, Aware, Grow, Spina Bifida Ireland and Children in Crossfire.

He is a former chairman of Finn Harps FC and also played inter-county football as well as soccer.

He joined the Labour Party in 2010 and contested the 2011 general election in the Donegal North East constituency, failing to win a seat. He was elected to the Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel in April 2011.