Shaun Coyle leaving Letterkenny Court. (North West Newspix)
A man who attacked a woman after putting his hand up her skirt and touched her privates after a party for his grandson’s First Holy Communion has been fined €1,000.
Shaun Coyle, 66, attacked neighbour Olive Allen as they were socialising in a bar in Carrigans.
Ms Allen had been enjoying a drink with her boyfriend when Coyle approached they couple in a drunken state in the Carraig Inn.
Coyle initially slapped Ms Allen in the back and said he could have both of them shot.
But they made friends and he bought Ms Allen and her boyfriend Robert Cole a drink.
However, Coyle retuned later in the evening and began chatting to the couple again telling Ms Allen that if he was 30 years younger he would fancy his chances with her.
Mr Cole left to have a smoke outside and a row ensued between Ms Allen and Mr Coyle.
It was then claimed that Coyle, a fisherman from Castletown, St Johnston, then put his hand up Ms Allen’s short skirt and a fight ensued.
Ms Allen, 46, of Transallagh, St Johnston, kicked Mr Coyle in the stomach and then threw a bottle at him.
Ms Allen admitted that she had ben barred form the pub as a result of throwing the bottle at Mr Coyle.
Both Mr Coyle and Ms Allen appeared at Letterkenny District Court yesterday charged with assaulting each other during the incident on May 17th, 2014.
Pictures of both Ms Allen and Mr Coyle’s injuries after the fight were produced in court.
Giving her evidence Ms Allen, who was sobbing in the witness box said “He put his hand up my skirt and he should not have. He touched my privates and he just can’t do that. I fought back but he was clawing my face.”
She claims din her evidence that Mr Coyle had often been ‘sleazy’ in his conversation with her but that she had just ignored it.
Mr Coyle admitted having words about his daughter with Ms Allen but denied that he ever put his hand up her skirt and touched her inappropriately.
He said “No I did not. I put no hand up no skirt. There were three men had to hold her of me.”
He claimed that she had attacked him and that she struck him in the face, knocking off his glasses and causing him to fall to the floor.
After hearing the evidence, Judge James Faughnan said he was satisfied that it was Mr Coyle who provoked Ms Allen and dismissed the charge of assault against her.
Judge Faughan asked Ms Allen what she wanted to happen to Mr Coyle and she replied that she simply did not want what happened to her to happen to anybody else.
Solicitor for Mr Coyle, Kieran O’Gorman said his client had undergone a serious operation and had no previous convictions of any kind.
The judge said Ms Allen’s injuries were self evident and that they were nasty injuries and fined Coyle €1,000, giving him six months to pay the money.