Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, where a 43-year-old woman died after having sex with an Alsatian dog.

Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, where a 43-year-old woman died after having sex with an Alsatian dog.

A MAN HAS appeared before Limerick District Court charged with ordering his Alsatian dog to have sex with a 43-year-old mother of four, who died from an adverse allergic reaction to the intercourse.

The Irish Sun reports that Sean McDonnell, 57, is charged with buggery contrary to Section 61 of the Offences against the Person Act of 1861 – and is believed to be the first person in Ireland to be charged under the legislation.

The Irish Daily Star adds that McDonnell and the deceased woman had discussed the arrangement on a bestiality internet chat room, and that Gardaí are satisfied that the intercourse was consensual.

The Alsatian dog has been kept in quarantine ever since the incident of 7 October, 2008, Patrick O’Connell wrote.

The woman fell ill at around 7:30pm that evening and was rushed to Mid-Western Regional Hospital where she died at around 8pm. Tests showed she had died of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction similar to that prompted by peanut allergies.

The Sun’s Barry Moran said McDonnell could face a life sentence in prison if found guilty.

Read more in the Irish Sun and Irish Daily Star (print editions)