Bedside vigil as son fights for life in UK

The parents of Stephen Donegan, the Irishman left fighting for his life after a weekend assault in Liverpool, are maintaining a bedside vigil at the hospital where he is in an induced coma.

Mr Donegan, 24, from Shanballymore, near Doneraile in north Cork, suffered a serious head injury during the attack outside a nightclub in the northern English city in the early hours of Saturday morning. Since then he has been in a critical but stable condition in hospital, while a 19-year-old from Liverpool has been charged with assault.

The incident has shocked the family and friends of Mr Donegan, also known as Stevie, who had been in Liverpool on a stag party.