A US tourist has said he is lucky to be alive following an attack in Dublin two years ago, as a third teenager was sentenced to detention for his part in the attack.
Stephen Termini, who says he now wants to be known by his great grandmother's surname Donnelly, was out for drinks on the night of 19 July 2023, when he was subjected to a serious assault by three teenage boys in the city centre.
Two of the boys, who were aged 15 and 14 at the time, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm and were sentenced last year to 32 months and 26 months in detention. The third boy, who was 16 at the time, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault causing harm and was sentenced today to 20 months in detention.
The court heard Mr Donnelly was walking along Talbot Street just after 10.30pm on the night of 19 July 2023. He walked past a group of teenagers and then went back and began speaking to them. The court heard he had been speaking to some girls, one of whom told him to "go away".
The oldest boy attacked Mr Donnelly, the court heard, "jump kicking" him a number of times.
Detective Garda Shane Noone told Prosecuting counsel Diarmuid Collins that there were four kicks in total by this boy, including a "roundhouse type kick" and a "two-footed jump kick".
The first boy moved away and then appeared to film on his phone while Mr Donnelly was punched and kicked by the second boy.
The third boy hit Mr Donnelly once knocking him to the ground. The court heard the second and third boys appeared concerned about Mr Donnelly and checked on him before fleeing.
Mr Donnelly suffered serious injuries to his brain. He underwent an operation to save the sight in his right eye and spent two weeks in intensive care in Beaumont hospital. Mr Collins said he was in constant pain, had trouble sleeping, suffered from seizures and had difficulty walking.
Outside court, Mr Donnelly said he did not hold any hate towards the teenagers.
He said the sentence did not change the way he had always felt and that he forgave "those kids for what they did", adding that he did not have any problems with Irish people.
He said he would not tell anyone not to come to Dublin because "it's dangerous" as he would say "it's beautiful".
He explained he had changed his name to Donnelly after his great grandmother who went to America in the aftermath of the Great Famine.
Mr Donnely said all he wanted to do was to stay in Ireland and to live and work here.
Now, he said, he would have a very different life. He said he had ruptured discs in his back but he was sure there was something he could work at.
He wanted somewhere to live, to go to work, to come home, be safe, lie down and go to sleep and "play a little bass guitar".
Mr Donnelly said as a result of his injuries, he would never be able to ride a horse again or play soccer.
Those things were taken from him, he said, but he had to enjoy the things he had left. He said he was lucky to be alive.
He said although he did not remember the attack, he knew what happened. He said he never bothered anyone and did not want to fight.
Mr Donnelly said he was glad the case was over and that he hoped the boys would never do what they had done to anyone else and that people who felt like doing it would think about it and see what it could do to someone.
"You’re only here for a short amount of time on this planet," Mr Donnelly said, "then you have to pay the bill".
Boys should 'pay some restitution'
In a victim impact statement, Mr Donnelly said he could hardly do anything without his cane. He said he had never asked for this attack and the boys should "pay some restitution" even though he said he forgave them.
He said he still wanted to come back and live in Ireland and did not hold the attack against the people of Ireland. He said he was honest, hardworking, and didn't bother anyone but his life had been completely altered by the attack.
The court heard more than €120,000 had been raised in a campaign "purporting to assist" Mr Donnelly. But Mr Donnelly had not seen any of the money.
The 16-year-old boy, who is now almost 18, has nine previous convictions, including a conviction in 2022 for assault and violent disorder in what the court was told were "similar circumstances".
His defence counsel, Conor Devally, said a probation report showed the boy was cooperative and remorseful and was engaging with his mother and with the services around him. He was involved in community services and sporting activities and everyone around him recognised there was a great improvement in his demeanour, behaviour and maturity although there was "work still to be done".
Mr Devally asked the judge to give his client a suspended sentence and said the community should benefit from his rehabilitation.
However, Judge Martin Nolan said custody was necessary. The judge said Mr Donnelly had been minding his own business on the night in question and for reasons "wholly unknown" the boy had attacked him "pretty viciously".
He said Mr Donnelly had been left in a very sad position following the attacks by the three boys. He said this boy had a history of assault and violent disorder.
The judge said he had to have an eye towards rehabilitation but he said the boy had previously been given chances from various courts in other matters and he was reluctantly imposing a custodial sentence.
He gave him a 20-month period of detention and said the boy "had to change" and previous chances had not helped him change.
The boy's family were in court. They were extremely upset after the sentencing and a member of the family shouted abuse at the judge afterwards.
