Man attacked stranger he thought was spying on his children

A Co Donegal homeowner assaulted a man after he thought he was spying on his children in his back garden.

Edward McGahern (39) attacked the man who had been looking over some fences close to his attacker’s home. However the victim had simply been in the area looking around as his daughter was considering buying a house nearby.

Letterkenny District Court heard the victim was taking some measurements when he heard another man shouting at him. He initially ignored the shouts but then the accused approached him.

Garda Inspector Goretti Sheridan said McGahern asked the accused why he was looking at his children and then pushed the victim and caused him to fall over and he banged his head. He began to bleed profusely and was forced to go to hospital to get six stitches.

Solicitor Patsy Gallagher said his client, after seeing the man looking over a fence, put two and two together and “got one hundred and two”.

He said the victim was not known in the area and the altercation had happened after a series of unfortunate events.

"My client believed this man was there for another purpose and he was not. He wrongly and unfortunately believed he was there for another purpose and he is deeply sorry for what happened," said Mr Gallagher.

The court heard that McGahern, of Lui na Greine, Oldtown, Letterkenny, had 28 previous convictions, including five for assault.

Judge Paul Kelly told Mr Gallagher: "This is an appalling situation that a man going about his business is approached by somebody and then attacked no matter what your client's mistaken beliefs were."

He adjourned the case and asked for a victim impact report on the case.