'Prone, injured, and bloodied': Alex Coughlan assault accused teen denied bail by High Court

Tom Tuite

A post-mortem has established that Alex Coughlan, who died after being severely injured in Blanchardstown last month, suffered "traumatic" head and neck injuries, a court has heard.

Coughlan, who was 37, was found unconscious on May 17th on Mill Road.

He was brought to the hospital in a critical condition, where he was pronounced dead three days later.

Shortly after he passed away, gardaí charged two boys in connection with the incident.

The pair, aged 16 and 17, are accused of causing serious harm to Coughlan at Mill Road, under section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

They were also charged with robbing him of his bank cards and a €300 gold ring.

The boys, who cannot be named because they are minors, had been refused bail in the District Court on May 20th, but the younger defendant made a fresh application before Justice Sean Gillane in the High Court in Cloverhill on Tuesday, which was also denied.

Garda Sergeant Emma Ryan alleged the man was assaulted and robbed of his gold ring, wallet and bank cards at Mill Road, Blanchardstown.

Objecting to bail, Sergeant Ryan said a post-mortem has since been carried out, and the cause of death has been recorded as traumatic head injuries.

Citing the seriousness of the case, she told the court that Coughlan had injuries to his neck area, scrapes to his knees and elbows, which corroborated that he was on his knees pleading with his attacker, and he had "no defensive injuries".

The court heard he suffered severe bruising, and there was evidence of suffocation and choking.

Sergeant Ryan agreed with Keith Branagan, for the State, that it was a sustained assault, and footage was available.

She described it as a small snippet which was taken from the 16-year-old's phone and "showed the deceased on his knees begging for his life, before the selfie camera shows the teenager's face".

The court heard it was an arranged meeting but set up under false pretences for the purpose of committing robbery and extortion offences, and no other motive.

She said Coughlan was walking down the road before the pair blocked him. The court heard the second teenager punched him, and he fell but tried to run and was pursued by both boys, and received kicks and punches.

A witness reported that Coughlan was on his knees "crying and pleading to the two males".

His AIB and Revolut cards were used in local shops minutes later, and a gold ring given to Coughlan by his father was taken and worn by the 16-year-old. The sergeant said that the boy still had it on him at the time of his arrest on May 19th.

The sergeant was concerned that the teenager considered the deceased prey, and the bail hearing was told his number was saved on the co-accused youth's phone as "Prey 2".

She said a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to bringing a more serious charge.

The sergeant agreed with defence counsel Ronan Prendergast, instructed by solicitor Brian Keenan, that there were no messages exchanged between his client and the deceased man.

Prendergast submitted that his client, who had been in school, was accompanied to court by his father, who had €1,000 available for a surety.

Counsel said the boy would abide by conditions and engage with a bail supervision scheme linked to the juvenile justice system.

However, Justice Gillane noted the objections and refused bail; he said the boy had to be aware that Coughlan was left "prone, injured and bloodied".