A pub owner claims he was beaten up by a regular customer after he had barred him from his premises.

Darren McLaughlin claims he was severely beaten with a baseball bat in front of his home in Gleneely, Inishowen.

Mr McLaughlin claims the accused, John McGettigan, followed him from the Orchard Bar in Gleneely in October, 2013 and struck him several times with a baseball bat.

McGettigan, who denies it was he who assaulted Mr McLaughlin, had been barred some nights earlier from the bar after he argued with the bar-owner.

Mr McLaughlin claims he was confronted by McGettigan who accused him of serving late drinks to his family and friends but refused to serve him.

The bar-owner, of Foden, Carndonagh, claimed just before 2am on October 8th, 2013, he drove home in his Audi A6 car and was approached in the driveway by McGettigan.

Mr McLaughlin told the court “He came down on top of me with the baseball bat and he kept slapping me. I kept shouting “John, John, what are you at?” But he kpet hitting me and he put me on the ground.

“Initially I got blows on the hand and I looked to defend myself and he caught me on the head and he split me. He then went for my leg. He said to me “You bastard, you know what this is for.”

Mr McLaughlin said he managed to climb back into his car and blew the horn and McGettigan fled the scene.

He managed to drive himself a number of miles away to get medical treatment for his wounds at the local NowDoc clinic in Carndonagh.

Barrister for McGettigan, Peter Nolan, put it to Mr McLaughlin that he had barred his client because of the slagging in the bar.

He put it to him that he had been caught masturbating in front of barmaid Denise McDaid whom he had previously been in a relationship.

Mr McLaughlin admitted he had been masturbating in front of Ms McDaid.

And Mr Nolan put it to Mr McLaughlin that the word spread around the bar among regulars that he was caught masturbating in front of Ms McDaid.

“I put it to you that Mr McGettigan and everyone in the bar was slagging you continuously – calling you things like Tommy Tank, Tommy Tugger and Pat Mustard – a character from TV show Fr Ted.

“You did not like it and you set out to get him and shut him up. You didn’t like McGettigan – didn’t have time for him. He was embarrassing you and you decided to get him back.”

Former barmaid Denise McDaid told the court that her former boy friend Mr McLaughlin initially claimed that he had been “jumped” by four men but later admitted it was McGettigan.

She also told the court that she had witnessed Mr McLaughlin masturbating in the cellar of the bar.

“He wen tout to the cellar and the door was ajar. His penis was in hand and he was masturbating. I slammed the door and I told him to cop himself on. It happened three times. I closed door and walked away,” she revealed.

She also revealed that Mr McLaughlin texted texted on his phone in the bar.

The text read “If you stand there and look pretty I will give you twenty euro while I masturbate.”

Ms McDaid said she told fellow barman Jason McElhinney and he told other regulars who all began to call Mr McLaughlin names for several months.

“They would call him all sorts of names and would ask ‘are you away in there for a w*** Darren,” she added.

The accused man, a 32 year old fisherman from Gemstone Park, Gleneely denied having any involvement in the assault of Mr McLaughlin.

He admitted that he had been barred from the premises but said he had been barred before and had returned to the premises.

The case, before Judge Martin Nolan, continues tomorrow.