Teen charged with assault of Irishman

A YOUTH has appeared in an Australian court charged with seriously assaulting an Irish tourist, who is in a stable but “unresponsive” condition in hospital.

Daniel Byrne, aged 18, from the Franklin suburb of the country’s capital, Canberra, was arrested yesterday after the incident at 5.30am local time on Sunday (8.30pm Irish time on Saturday).

During an initial magistrates’ court hearing, his lawyers — who have not applied for bail — heard he is accused of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm on Tim McCarthy, aged 41, from Spa in Killarney, Co Kerry.

Police said CCTV footage of the incident shows Byrne striking the Kerryman on the head outside a convenience store in the Civic area of the city.

It is alleged the assault caused Mr McCarthy to fall to the ground, resulting in immediate loss of consciousness and a severe head injury.

Security guards who saw the incident from a distance called police and rolled Mr McCarthy into the recovery position when he failed to respond to attempts to wake him.

An ambulance later rushed him to Canberra Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for cerebral haemorrhaging.

He is described as being in a critical but stable condition and remains “unresponsive” in hospital.

The teenager was formally refused bail during the initial court hearing and is due to re-appear in front of the judiciary on Friday.

Investigating officers said there is clear CCTV footage of the assault from a number of cameras stationed in the busy Civic area of Canberra.

The Irish embassy in Canberra has confirmed it is speaking to Mr McCarthy’s family, who are in Ireland, in relation to the assault.

However, while it is providing consular assistance, the embassy declined to comment further on the case.