New legal team for man charged with assault of teenage girl

A new legal team has come on record to represent a man charged with assaulting a teenage girl in Letterkenny.

Seamus Cooley is charged with assaulting Shanan Reid McDaid and causing her harm on October 15, 2017 at Castle Street, Letterkenny.

Mr Cooley represented himself at previous sittings of Letterkenny Circuit Court when he indicated that he was unable to find a legal team.

The matter was mentioned briefly at Wednesday’s sitting of Letterkenny Circuit Court. Mr Patrick O’Sullivan BL made an application for Daniel Kreith solicitors, Limerick to come on record in the matter.

Mr O’Sullivan told Judge John Aylmer that he understood that there had been a number of previous solicitors on record for Mr Cooley.

Mr O’Sullivan informed the court that legal aid was previously extended for a second counsel and Judge Aylmer confirmed that this remains.

Judge Aylmer adjourned the case until the October sitting of Letterkenny Circuit Court.

Last month, Mr Cooley told the court that he had ’37 or 38 pre-trial matters’ he wished to bring to the court’s attention.

He was given one month to serve notice of a preliminary application for a pre-trial hearing and, if was doing so, to indicate why he was seeking such a hearing.

The Judge also asked that if Mr Cooley had any other preliminary matters that he sent a letter to the State Solicitor for County Donegal, Mr Kieran Dillon, indicating the nature of the preliminary application.

Pre-trial hearings were introduced as part of the Criminal Procedure Act 2021, which was enacted by President Michael D Higgins in May, 2021.