A DOG WALKER accused of carrying out a “totally unprovoked” attack on Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae as he sat in traffic in Dublin has been granted High Court bail.

Anthony Foley (51), of Rosary Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, is charged with assault causing harm to the politician on 16 September 2026, at Cork Street, and was denied bail two days later in the District Court.

However, he appealed that decision before Ms Justice Cathleen Noctor, who heard evidence and legal submissions at the High Court in Cloverhill, Dublin, on Wednesday.

She reserved judgment until today. Ms Justice Noctor emphasised that the accused was entitled to the presumption of innocence and to bail.

Addressing objections that Foley would fail to appear in court and garda concerns over potential witness interference via social media or at the TD’s workplace, she held that there was no evidential basis for those fears.

She noted the seriousness of the broad daylight attack and was satisfied that a conviction would likely result in a custodial sentence.

However, she rejected garda apprehensions that granting bail would lead to another serious offence targeting a politician specifically. The judge said she was “not convinced it was clearly politically motivated”, but rather an alleged general attack on a person who happened to be an elected representative.

Bail was granted subject to stringent conditions. Ms Justice Noctor required an independent surety of €500 to be approved—though the surety does not have to pay any cash—while the accused, Foley, must lodge his own bond of €1,400.

Upon taking up bail, he must reside at an address approved by the gardaí before his release. He must sign on twice daily at his nearest garda station, between 9am and midday, and again between 4pm and 7pm.

Additional terms include an 8pm to 8am curfew and a complete exclusion from the Dublin 2 area in its entirety. The judge sternly warned that even a fleeting appearance in the area would constitute a breach of bail, risking a remand in custody.

Furthermore, he must provide a mobile phone number upon which he can be contacted, and the device must be kept charged and answered at all times.

Objecting to bail, Garda Sergeant Dave Griffin alleged the accused approached Michael Healy-Rae’s car outside the Coombe hospital just after 4pm and that the politician was the victim of an unprovoked assault.

He said the independent TD had been in his car stuck in traffic when the assailant, who was walking a dog, began shouting obscenities before punching him in the face.

The former minister of state was not required to attend the bail hearing.

CCTV footage with audio captured the incident. The attacker said, “Ah bucko, you’re in the wrong area, get out of here you fucking snake” before punching him through his open car window.

Foley vehemently denies being the person in the video evidence.

Healy-Rae received treatment from an ambulance crew. He was later taken to hospital for a laceration to his lip.

The sergeant told the bail hearing that the complainant also sustained damage to his front teeth, and the full extent has yet to be known, pending an assessment by an orthodontist.

Photos of his injuries were handed into court, along with still images from the video evidence.

Sergeant Griffin said they showed Foley walking to the driver’s side of the car and punching Healy-Rae, and the TD “getting out of his vehicle with blood on his face”.

The court heard Foley was arrested the following day, had been walking the same dog and wearing the identical clothes as in the footage on 16 September, and was recognised by the investigating officer, Garda Paul Nolan, from Kevin Street Station.

Questioned further by Keith Branagan BL for the State, Sergeant Griffin confirmed that the accused made denials when he was interviewed twice at the local garda station.

The sergeant replied “very much so” when the barrister put it to him that the CCTV footage contradicted Foley’s denials.

The State contended that one of the pictures handed into court showed the accused’s face. Another captured Michael Healy-Rae’s car, which was obviously his because his name was written on the side.

At the time of his arrest, Foley was carrying a skip bag which he had allegedly removed from a house garden the previous day, an incident also captured on CCTV, which the court heard further reinforced the strength of the evidence against him.

The objections were under Section 2 of the Bail Act and the Supreme Court’s O’Callaghan Rules on opposing bail.

Griffin raised concerns about the unprovoked nature of the incident, which happened while the politician was stuck in traffic in the middle of the road and was approached and was subjected to an assault which was “totally unwarranted and unprovoked”.

He feared it would happen again.

However, he added that the accused had no history of failing to appear in court.

Sergeant Griffin also expressed concerns about potential witness interference, either through social media channels or at Dáil Éireann.

Foley did not give evidence.

Cross-examined by Nicola Cox BL, the sergeant agreed the case was still in its early stages and that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had yet to give directions on whether it would be sent to the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers.

The court heard that the investigation file was in its latter stages of preparation. The defence highlighted that Foley had no history of interfering with or intimidating witnesses in criminal proceedings. But the sergeant said he remained concerned about the motivation behind the incident.

He told Cox that no bail conditions would allay his concerns.

The court heard that Foley was on disability benefit, receiving €254 a week.

The State did not accept that he could reside at the address on Rosary Road, as asserted in his affidavit, because the investigating garda believed he was not welcome there.

Cox said the Rosary Road property belonged to her client’s partner, and she had come to the proceedings earlier to provide support.

Garda Nolan was called to give evidence to clarify. He told the court he understood that the accused could not reside there because of a fraught relationship with another member of the household. The garda added that his partner told him the accused had previously lived in a mobile home.

The defence contended that he had stayed there three nights a week until he went into custody but would remain at the address if bailed.

Addressing the witness interference objection, Cox submitted that it was not supported, citing lack of additional evidence of threats, contact or background as to the men knowing one another.

Foley is due back in the District Court later this month for the DPP’s directions to be outlined.