Anthony Foley granted bail over alleged assault on Michael Healy-Rae

Anthony Foley, the man charged with assault causing harm to Irish TD Michael Healy-Rae in Dublin, was granted bail by the High Court on Thursday, 8 October. The decision reverses a District Court refusal of bail after the alleged 16 September attack and allows his release subject to conditions, while the criminal charge remains unresolved.

Ms Justice Cathleen Noctor delivered her decision after hearing evidence and legal submissions at the High Court in Cloverhill on Wednesday. She emphasised Foley’s presumption of innocence and entitlement to bail, according to reports by RTÉ News and TheJournal.ie. The ruling addresses whether he can be released while the case proceeds; it does not decide whether he committed the alleged assault.

Why the High Court granted Anthony Foley bail

The judge found no evidential basis for objections that Foley would fail to appear in court or interfere with witnesses through social media or at Healy-Rae’s workplace. She also rejected Garda concerns that granting bail would lead to another serious offence specifically targeting a politician. Those conclusions dealt with the objections to release, rather than the merits of the assault charge.

Noctor said she was ‘not convinced it was clearly politically motivated’. She characterised the allegation as a general attack on a person who happened to be an elected representative, the two reports said. At the same time, she regarded the alleged attack as serious and said a conviction would likely lead to a custodial sentence. Her assessment of the bail objections did not resolve Foley’s identification or guilt.

What conditions Foley must meet

Other conditions include a curfew and a ban on entering Dublin 2. TheJournal.ie specified that the curfew runs from 8pm to 8am and that Foley must sign on between 9am and noon and again between 4pm and 7pm. It also reported that he must provide a mobile number and keep the phone charged and answerable. The judge warned that even a brief entry into Dublin 2 would breach bail and risk a return to custody.

What the court heard about the alleged assault

Foley, 51, is charged over an alleged assault on Healy-Rae on Cork Street on 16 September. He was denied bail in the District Court two days later and appealed. At the High Court hearing, Garda Sergeant Dave Griffin alleged that a man approached the TD’s car as he sat in traffic near the Coombe hospital, shouted at him and punched him through an open window, according to TheJournal.ie.

TheJournal.ie reported Griffin’s account that CCTV with audio captured the incident and that images from the footage were put before the court. Foley denied being the person shown in the video and made denials during Garda interviews, the report said. The footage and the sergeant’s account were presented in the bail proceedings; neither report describes a finding that Foley was the attacker.

Healy-Rae received treatment from an ambulance crew and was later taken to hospital for a cut lip, according to TheJournal.ie’s account of the hearing. The court was also told of damage to his front teeth. The full extent of that reported dental injury had yet to be established pending an orthodontic assessment. Healy-Rae was not required to attend the bail hearing.

What happens next in the case

Foley is due back in the District Court later in October, when the Director of Public Prosecutions’ directions are expected to be outlined, RTÉ News reported. TheJournal.ie said the case remained at an early stage and that prosecutors had not yet directed whether it should go to the Circuit Court. The reports give no precise return date. The charge remains before the courts, and the bail ruling is not a verdict.