Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty has avoided a jail sentence but been banned from seeing his brother for three-years, after he head-butted him in a pub brawl last year.
The former bare-knuckle boxing champion appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday after admitting to the charges of common assault.
The incident took place near his home in North Wales after he attacked Douglas McDonagh while both were drinking at a bar, Flintshire magistrates’ court heard.
Doherty, 54, was said to become enraged before head-butting McDonagh and going into a frenzied attack.
Another brother – Martin McDonagh – was also involved in the brawl after initially acting as peacemaker, before words were exchanged about his son, who died 16 years ago.
Doherty was at risk of being put behind bars after breaching a suspended prison sentence for a gypsy ‘straightener’ with a cousin outside a PC World store in Manchester in 2011, during which he lost part of his ear.
Judge Michael Henshell spared Doherty a custodial sentence and handed him a six-month supervision order instead and forced him to pay £85 for costs as well as imposing a three-year restraint from seeing Douglas McDonagh.
He told Doherty: “You are now aged 55. You are too old to be coming back to these courts for fighting in pubs.
“In this case you had been to a pub after a funeral and you had been drinking and your emotions were raised and you had been provoked.”
Speaking outside court Doherty, who was supported by his wife Roseanne and son David, said: “I am pretty happy with what the judge said.”
He claimed McDonough had deliberately started a fight to try to get £30,000 cash out of him.
His solicitor Michael Sopholeous added: “Paddy is upset that his brother brought it to court.
“It was a family dispute and should have been dealt with in the family.
“He’s happy with the result and just wants to move on with his life.”
The attack, which occurred at The Melrose public house in Shot ton, Flintshire last October, left Douglas McDonagh with a three-inch cut above his left-eye.
Doherty, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2011, recently got embroiled in a family feud prior to the altercation about the success of certain members of the family.
Mr Sopholeous said that jealousy had arison between parts of the family who had had success and the parts who had not.
Martin McDonagh, 52, from Queensferry, received a sentence of a 12 month community order last week for his involvement in the fight.
He was also given a six month alcohol treatment order after the court heard he turned to drink following the death of his son. In addition, he is banned from contacting his brother Douglas for a year.
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