Fr Peter McVerry suffers minor injuries after assault in north Dublin home

Fr Peter McVerry was left with minor injuries following an assault at his Ballymun home last Wednesday.

The incident happened in the early hours of the morning when an individual called to the house looking for help.

Mr Pat Doyle, chief executive of the Peter McVerry Trust, said: “In light of speculation locally and on foot of media queries, we can confirm that Peter was involved in a minor incident at his home in recent days.

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“In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Fr Peter McVerry opened his door to an individual knocking for help. It soon became clear that the person was affected by drugs and alcohol.

“In the brief interaction that followed, Fr McVerry sustained minor injuries, leading to bruising on his face, particularly around one eye.

“After this brief engagement, the person left. Gardai were not called.”

As soon as he found out the incident took place, Mr Doyle” presented immediately” to Fr McVerry and offered support and administered first aid.

Mr Doyle said that the person involved apologised to Fr McVerry and there is no garda involvement.

He said: “We are issuing this statement to offer clarity on Peter’s wellbeing. Peter is recovering from his injuries, which were thankfully only superficial and did not result in hospitalisation or attendance at A&E. Peter McVerry Trust continues to offer every support to Peter.

“Peter is already back carrying out, and focusing on, his work to help vulnerable people impacted by homelessness and addiction.”

“The person has since realised the impact of their actions and has presented and apologised to Peter. There will be no Gardai involvement and Peter considers the matter closed.

“On behalf of Peter we would appeal for the media and public to respect his privacy at this time. Neither Peter nor the charity will be commenting further on this matter.

“Peter has stressed that this is only the second time in 40 years that he has been assaulted and that he does not want this incident to distract from the issue of homelessness and people impacted by it.”

A garda spokesman told Dublin Live they had no reports of the incident.

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