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Armagh man accused of assaulting mother refused bail variation to live in city hostel

The assault charges stem from an incident which is alleged to have occurred on March 21 this year.

Armagh Courthouse

A County Armagh man accused of assaulting his mother has been refused a bail variation to live in a hostel in Armagh.

He had previously been denied entry to Armagh following a successful High Court bail application.

The case of James Murphy was heard at Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old is charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, theft, domestic abuse and possessing a Class B controlled drug.

The assault charges stem from an incident which is alleged to have occurred on March 21 this year.

The domestic abuse and theft charges, which involved a mobile phone and a bank card, are alleged to have occurred between March 1 and March 21.

The case was listed for a bail variation application.

A defence solicitor told the court that Murphy was granted High Court bail on March 29, but had been unable to perfect that bail due to being unable to obtain a bail address.

While none of the facts of the alleged charges were outlined in the court room, it was heard that one of the conditions around which Murphy had been granted High Court bail was that he is to remain outside the city of Armagh.

The defence told the court that a bail address had been obtained, at a hostel run by the church in Armagh.

Deputy District Judge Kennedy, on asking why Murphy had been excluded from Armagh, was told that it was because it was a domestic violence case against the defendant’s mother.

The court heard that she resides in Keady – where the offences are alleged to have occurred – but frequently travels to Armagh for appointments.

Deputy District Judge Kennedy noted that he had initially refused bail on the case and said: “I’m not going to amend the bail condition at this stage.”

As the papers for the case had not been received, Deputy District Judge Kennedy adjourned the case to June 6 for an update regarding the file.


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