FINE GAEL LEADER and Taoiseach Simon Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee have defended Louth general election candidate John McGahon, saying he has the support of the party, after images emerged of the injuries sustained by a man he was involved in an altercation with in 2018.

McGahon – a Fine Gael senator who has run in a number of election campaigns – was selected by Fine Gael in September to represent the party in the Louth constituency at the next general election.

During the summer, McGahon was ordered by the High Court to pay Breen White €39,000 after the Castleblaney farmer sued the senator for assault and battery.

According to the Irish Times, the jury found White had been assaulted and awarded €60,000, including €10,000 for aggravated damages. It apportioned blame at 65% against McGahon and the other 35% against the farmer.

McGahon denied the allegations and said he was assaulted and acted in self defence.

In 2020, two years after the incident, McGahon was elected to the Seanad to serve on the Cultural and Educational Panel. He was later cleared of a charge of assault causing harm in 2022 following a four day criminal trial at Dundalk Circuit Court over the incident.

In July of this year, Harris described what as happened as “a scuffle” and said McGahon was remorseful, and that he had the Taoiseach’s backing.

“There was clearly an incident, a scuffle, and he shouldn’t have put himself in that scenario. It was not assault as it was deemed by a criminal court not to be,” Harris said.

Images of injuries 

Breen White has now spoken to the media and shared images of his injuries, as well as testimony of the event in question. In an interview with the Sunday Times, White said:

“Simon Harris… really disappointed me when he described it as a scuffle.

“I don’t think Harris in fairness might have been afforded to be shown the video of what McGahon actually [did] to me that night, and he might have been working under limited information.

“But I think if he’d seen the video or seen my injuries, he definitely would not have described it as a scuffle.” 

CCTV evidence of the incident was shown to the jury during the criminal and civil trials. White also told the Sunday Times that he had shown evidence of his injuries to the party following the 2018 incident.

Sinn Féin has been highly critical of Fine Gael for selecting McGahon. In a statement today, candidate Louise O’Reilly said Harris had a number of questions to answer on the matter, particularly why McGahon has been allowed to run for the party.

Simon Harris responded today to the issues raised in the Sunday Times article during the Fine Gael manifesto launch. He said the party would “continue to canvas” for McGahon.

“These matters were all examined in the court of law,” said Harris, saying that “a defence of self-defence” was put forward by McGahon and that he was acquitted by a jury.

Helen McEntee also defended McGahon, saying that he was found not guilty of a crime. Speaking to RTÉ’s This Week programme, McEntee said:

“Senator McGahon… was before a criminal court with a jury of his peers. In that trial, all the evidence was seen, was heard, was presented, and based on that evidence, he was acquitted of the accusation of assault.

He was…  found not guilty of what he was being accused of on the basis that he put forward a defence of self defence. 

McEntee said that “a victim’s voice will always matter and will always be front and centre”, but McGahon was acquitted by a jury. She said he would he would remain on the Fine Gael ticket, and that it was up to “the people of Louth” whether they wanted to elect him.

“And I believe that John has already done a fantastic job representing the people of Louth,” she said.

With reporting from Christina Finn