{"id":501364,"date":"2026-05-25T05:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/501364\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T05:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:42:11","slug":"watch-vigil-for-alex-coughlan-who-died-after-serious-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/501364\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Vigil for Alex Coughlan who died after serious assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of people have attended a silent vigil for Alex Coughlan who died after being seriously assaulted Blanchardstown last Sunday. Two 16-year-olds have been charged in relation to the attack.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Locals attending placed flowers at the spot on Mill Road where Mr Coughlan was found unconscious after the shocking attack, with many expressing shock and horror that the assault took place in broad daylight in a busy area.<\/p>\n

Some told RT\u00c9 that they were very disappointed that no local TD attended the vigil. Local TDs for the area are Ruth Coppinger of PBP-Solidarity, Jack Chambers of Fianna F\u00e1il, Emer Currie of Fine Gael, Paul Donnelly of Sinn F\u00e9in and Roderic O\u2019Gorman of the Greens.<\/p>\n

Mr Coughlan\u2019s family said earlier this week that he was \u201ctruly loved by everyone\u201d who knew him and asked that he \u201cbe remembered for the wonderful person he was and the love and laughter he brought to so many\u201d.<\/p>\n

Local councillor, Patrick Quinlan who helped to organise the vigil said it was \u201ca beautiful and moving turnout this evening on Mill Road, Blanchardstown. Around 500 people came together in silence to remember Alex Coughlan; laying flowers, lighting candles, and showing solidarity with his family at this heartbreaking time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex was remembered as the kind, caring and selfless man he was.\u00a0The community stood quietly in his honour. May he rest in peace,\u201d Cllr Quinlan said.<\/p>\n

Alex Coughlan was subjected to what Garda\u00ed described as a completely unprovoked attack and died on Wednesday in hospital. The two 16-year-olds have been charged with assault causing serious harm and robbery but have not been named due to their age.<\/p>\n

In a crowd funder<\/a> posted by organiser, Aoife Lawless to raise funds for the funeral, Mr Coughlan\u2019s family said: \u201cIt is with deep sadness that we share the heartbreaking, tragic passing of our beloved Alex Coughlan on Sunday, 17th May 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex was truly loved by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His kindness, warmth, and presence touched so many lives, and he will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an incredible final act of kindness and generosity, Alex\u2019s organs have been donated to help others in need \u2014 a lasting gift that reflects the caring and selfless person he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this incredibly difficult time, Alex\u2019s family would like to sincerely thank all the staff involved in his care at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown for their compassion, support, and kindness. They would also like to thank all family and friends who have been there for them with messages, visits, prayers, and support over the past days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the family prepare for the difficult weeks ahead and the upcoming funeral and related expenses, any donation, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated and will help ease some of the financial burden during this heart-breaking time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, the family ask that Alex be remembered for the wonderful person he was and the love and laughter he brought to so many,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your kindness, support, and generosity,\u201d the crowd funder concluded.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the court heard that it is alleged that one of the 16-year-olds assaulted the man while the other recorded the attack on a mobile phone. Neither boy made any reply when charged. Bail was objected to and refused in each case.<\/p>\n

The court also heard that CCTV footage showed a man being followed and then being assaulted. A witness saw the man on his knees, crying and pleading while two males stood over him.<\/p>\n

It is alleged that Mr Coughlan\u2019s AIB card and his Revolut card were used to make purchases by the accused and that Garda\u00ed found a gold ring later identified as belonging to Mr Coughlan in the home of one of the accused.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of people have attended a silent vigil for Alex Coughlan who died after being seriously assaulted Blanchardstown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[216573,22431,9,10,61570,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,78670,7,8,217919],"class_list":["post-501364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-alex-coughlan","tag-blanchardstown","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-died","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-serious-assault","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-vigil"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116633622702858133","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}