Irish man in intensive care following alleged one-punch attack in Australia

Sarah Slater

An Irish man is in intensive care following a one-punch attack outside a McDonald’s in Australia.

Frank Staples was allegedly assaulted outside a McDonald's fast food restaurant on Beaufort St in Perth two weeks ago. He was knocked to the ground by an alleged punch to the side of the head on July 24th.

A man has been charged with grievously bodily harm in connection with the alleged assault and has since been released on bail.

The 41-year-old Wexford man sustained a brain haemorrhage as a result of the alleged attack and was in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Royal Perth Hospital for several days.

Mr Staples travelled to Sydney for work last April and moved to Perth last month. Mr Staples and his wife Jackie live in Dublin.

His 71-year-old father Jim travelled to Australia, however, his mother Stasia could not make the trip due to medical issues.

His sister Sarah also travelled from San Diego, and has launched a fundraising campaign to help cover the costs of their father remaining in Australia with Frank.

In her fundraising campaign, she explained her brother had travelled to Australia ahead of his wife "to set up a new life for their two of them".

"Their plans have been ruined by one punch," she added.

Ms Staples said her brother has awoken, but "is being sedated for his safety. "Currenly, he has a section of his skill removed due to swelling in his brain," she explained.

Currently, he has a section of his skull removed due to swelling in his brain.

"Since we don't have any family in Perth, the cost of flights to get here, transport, accommodation and food are already adding up, on top of Frank's future medical expenses," the fundraiser page reads.

"In this devastating time, I would love to be able to ease some of my family's current and future financial stresses that they are going to face so we can all focus on Frank's recovery.

"We’ve had many messages and phone calls from people, especially the Irish here in Australia, which has been so heartwarming. If you want to help, this GoFundMe is going to alleviate a lot of stress for my family.

"Anything, big or small that you can comfortably donate is very much appreciated."

The fundraising page has raised over 12,841 Australian dollars of its 100,000 Australian dollar target at the time of writing, having received over 150 donations.