Two men have been jailed in Cork for their part in an attack which left a 20-year-old chemistry student with permanent brain damage.
Denis Franklin, from Pallasgreen in Co Limerick, was left in a permanent vegetative state after the incident near Cork city centre in February 2002.
Ian Cronin, a painter and decorator, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm.
He was given a four-year jail sentence for knocking Mr Franklin to the ground and kicking and punching him as three or four others joined in.
Apprentice electrician William St Ledger admitted violent disorder and was jailed for nine months. The court was told he continued to kick a man on the ground as he was being dragged away from the fight.
The defendants are both aged 21 and from Douglas in Cork.
Sentencing, Judge Patrick Moran said he had a duty to ensure that their behaviour must not be encouraged in any form.
