Assault victim's survival 'a miracle', says sister

The sister of a man left fighting for his life after being beaten by a gang of masked men said it is a "miracle" he has started to speak again.

Charles Dooher, a 26-year-old farmer from Lifford in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, was at home when a masked gang beat him with iron bars and other weapons on 20 January.

Deborah Dooher said he has now started talking and is able to move his arms and legs voluntarily.

"For two and half weeks we waited for him to stick out his tongue. Then all of a sudden he stuck it out, he was miming his words... he is a miracle," she said.

Mr Dooher suffered severe head injuries in the attack and had been on life support in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

His father, also named Charles, was also assaulted during the attack.

Ms Dooher said her brother had not been expected to survive.

"It was God's work that he survived, and it was Charles' fierce strong spirit and want to come back to his family," she said.

"When he woke he asked were we ok, is everyone safe? He asked everyone's name of who he loved, were they safe?"

For the first time in his life, she added, her brother is afraid.

"What those guys did to my brother was horrific," she said.

The family no longer feel "safe enough to live in our country," she told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

Ms Dooher, a nurse, said she had held on to a belief that her brother would pull through, even in the darkest of times.

The family, and the family of his girlfriend Charlotte, have maintained a bedside vigil in the weeks following the attack.

"I had moments of sadness where I wanted the suffering to stop. When we least expected it we saw a finger move, a toe wiggle, a tongue stick out… it went from that to a miracle," Ms Dooher said.

"His voice is getting stronger every day. At the start he sounded so weak…. each hour that passes his voice gets stronger and stronger, he becomes stronger and stronger… and he becomes less afraid with each day and each hour."

Ms Dooher said her brother woke to a "sea of love" and soon asked if he could facetime his puppy.

But the family know a long road of recovery still lies ahead, she added.

"My brother was a 6 feet 4 inches tank of a man, he is emaciated... he has lost so much of himself through this."

She told BBC News NI that he now wants to know about his "healing journey".

"He wants to understand what is wrong with him, wants to know why he had the tracheotomy in, what is wrong with his body, why his head looks like this.

"We keep very positive on that, we try and create a place in his mind where the future is positive, the future is safe," she said.

The Dooher family have been critical of the Gardaí (Irish police) investigation into the attack at their home outside Lifford.

They claim they had been subjected to various threats over the years and robust action was not taken.

At the time, a gardaí spokesperson said: "An Garda Siochána does not comment on the detail of interactions with families. And Garda Siochána will continue to liaise with the family."

A family statement, from solicitor Ciaran Shiels, said the family was "a close, hard-working, law abiding family with respect for the law".

On Sunday, Gardaí said an investigation is continuing and renewed their appeal for any witnesses to come forward.