A man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his part in the manslaughter of a 27-year-old man in Blanchardstown five years ago.
Pierce Byrne, of Hazelwood Crescent, Hartstown in Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of John Murphy after a fight outside a bar in Blanchardstown on 15 April 2002.
Mr Murphy's brother, Derek, told the court that his brother had been so badly beaten that his whole head looked like an open wound.
He said his brother had been in the prime of life when he was taken from the family and had left behind a little daughter, who was devastated.
He said every ounce of his brother's beautiful life had been beaten out of him and he had been totally dehumanised.
He said no sentence was long enough to compensate the family for what Pierce Byrne did.
'We are serving a life sentence,' he said, 'life without John'.
