A young man who was allegedly viciously attacked by a gang armed with hurls has started a ‘GoFundMe’ page in an effort to cover some of his medical expenses following the beating.

Collie Aquino Teixeira McQuillan (30), from Mexico, and his Brazillian-born husband Gui (24) said they were “mindlessly” attacked with hurley sticks by a group of men while walking home around 2.30am on June 10 in the Harpurs Lane area of Portlaoise, Co Laois.

The couple, who live in the area, said they were shouted at by the group of thugs from across the road.

Mr McQuillan was then savagely beaten in an attempt to protect his husband from the attack. The couple believes the assault was of a homophobic nature.

Mr McQuillan sustained extensive damages to his face, jaw and teeth, resulting in him transferred from Portlaoise Hospital to St James's Hospital Dublin.

On the GoFundMe page created to pay for the mounting medical expenses incurred by the attack, Mr McQuillan wrote: “The attack was mindless and totally unprovoked. Medical expenses are mounting up and the overall cost of repairing the damage is more than unaffordable to myself.

“I have an upper and lower broken jaw. My lower jaw line has splintered bone and I have lost 2 teeth and another 2 teeth have been broken in half.

“Due to the impact there is nerve damage to my teeth and will require root canals to save them. The cost of both medical and dental repairs is about 8000 euro. I’m hoping to raise at least half of this amount.”

Mr McQuillan’s husband wrote on his Facebook page: “It never comes to your mind that this could happen to you or to someone close, till it does.

“My husband and I were savagely attacked by four men carrying hurls and pieces of wood, without a reason. He’s got the most severe injuries. His jaw is all fractured and lost four his front teeth. So with the physical pain, came the depression.”

“We still can’t believe that this happened, what kind of people does that? We just don’t understand.”

Gardaí confirmed that the alleged assault is being investigated in Laois. A spokesperson said: “Gardai in Laois are investigating an alleged assault in the Harpurs Lane part of Portlaoise on Sunday the 10th of June 2018 at around 2.30am. One male was taken to St James Street Hospital with serious facial injuries. Investigations are ongoing.”

Mr McQuillan’s GoFundMe page can be found here.

Online Editors