horror assault Boozed-up thug launched unprovoked attack on pensioner (71) causing bleed on brain

A young man attacked a 71-year-old pensioner as he crossed a street in a completely unprovoked attack giving him a bleed on the brain.

Seamus Ward, then aged 32, attacked elderly Charlie Tighe as he walked across the Main Street in the village of Milford in Co Donegal.

Ward, who had been drinking, struck Mr Tighe with such force with one punch he knocked him to the ground.

The pensioner suffered a black eye, cuts to his face and was rushed to hospital.

A witness to the attack on June 24th, 2019, told how she heard Ward shout at Mr Tighe "You think you're a big man now?" before attacking him.

Ward, of Drumkern, Milford appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he was charged with assault causing harm to Mr Tighe.

A medical report on Mr Tighe revealed he suffered a loss of consciousness, swelling and bruising, a black eye, cuts to the face and head and also a small bleed to the brain.

In his victim impact statement to the court, Mr Tighe said he could not remember the attack and was in a lot of pain and confusion.

He was told that he could lose the sight in his right eye and had to have two teeth removed and got headaches for six months after the attack.

He said he still wakes up in a pool of sweat because of the nightmares from the attack and even bought a dog for himself for company but also for security.

Mr Tighe, who was in court accompanied by his daughter Tara, said it was the worst experience of his life.

Tragically his own brother was killed in a car accident at the exact spot where he was attacked back in the 1960s, he said.

Garda Mark McHugh told the court that Ward was arrested and he was shown CCTV of the incident.

He said he didn't recall the incident but said he was ashamed after watching the CCTV footage taken from a local bar named Dustys.

He said he was sorry and he hoped Mr Tighe was okay and it was later revealed how the accused had called the local Garda station to enquire about the condition of Mr Tighe.

He claimed there had been ongoing 'history' between the pair which arose out of allegations about his father, who was a former Garda.

Mr Tighe had also claimed that following the attack, Ward had made faces at him form his jeep but this was denied by the accused.

Barrister for Ward, Mr Peter Nolan said his client had issues with alcohol and that he had been to rehab twice.

He had previous convictions including one for dangerous driving causing the death of a friend in 2008 for which he had done community service but had no convictions since that time.

Mr Nolan added that his client had €2,000 in court by way of some compensation and to defray some of the costs to Mr Tighe for the injuries he had caused him.

He added that his client accepted that his behaviour was appalling but that he had lost control because of the drink on the day.

Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case until next week to decide on a final sentence.

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Online Editors