GAA Player Receives 'Protective Plate' in Ongoing Hospital Care

A footballer battered in a savage attack being blamed on a Co Derry gang has had a ‘protective plate’ fitted to his head.

Attack and Injuries
Charles Dooher’s injuries were so severe that even though he was attacked in January, he is still being treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. The 26-year-old farmer and GAA footballer was attacked by an armed gang at his home in Lifford in Donegal on January 20 in a ‘home invasion’ that his family have blamed on gangsters ‘masquerading’ as dissident republicans.

Surgery Update
In the latest update on his condition, a family statement said that he has “just came out of surgery in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast”. They added: “This is hopefully Charles’ last major surgical operation. The Dooher family have been advised by medical consultants that the protective plate has now been successfully fitted to Charles’s head, and the operation appears to have completed without complication. “Charles is currently sitting up in his hospital bed, in excellent spirits and chatting to his family. The Dooher family now look forward to Charles finally coming home to Donegal. The family have reiterated their call to the public on both sides of the border for any information to be passed to An Garda Síochána at Lifford Garda Station, the PSNI at Maydown, or if they prefer in the first instance, to Madden & Finucane Solicitors in Derry or Belfast on 028 9023 8007. “They also would like to thank the very many people on both sides of the border who have provided them with tremendous support and assistance over the last three months.”

Investigation and Recovery
Previously the family have said that the gang responsible were “brought in” to Lifford by people who have “persecuted the Dooher family and maintained a vendetta for more than a decade”. The attack is the subject of a Gardai and PSNI investigation. It is believed that a group of masked men, armed with steel batons, entered the family home on the Conneyburrow Road, Lifford. Following the attack Charles was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he has undergone a range of treatments. His father, who is aged in his 60s, was brought by ambulance to Letterkenny University Hospital for treatment of less-serious injuries.