Three students, who were woken at their Cork home in the early hours of the morning two years ago by two intruders who attacked them with a crowbar, have spoken in court about the trauma they suffered in the incident.
Two of the three victims, who are all from China, flew from China to Ireland for the sentencing hearing today. They made the journey at their own expense having permanently left Ireland following the attack in 2024.
The third victim, who is an engineer, still lives and works in Ireland. However, her parents are constantly checking in with her amid concerns for her safety.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that on 17 April 2024 at 5.45am, Aidan Cullinane and Gerard Quinlan, both of no fixed abode, went in to a property at Millerd Street in Cork city as intruders.
They were not known to the three Chinese nationals living there, all of whom were asleep in their beds.
Detective Garda Brian Barron said that Cullinane, aged 32, and Quinlan, aged 41, burst into two upstairs bedrooms simultaneously, demanding cash and mobile phones from the three young people. The students were terrified and gave the men €200 and a laptop.
The occupants of the property complied with the demands of the men. However, Det Gda Barron said that they were subjected to "a vicious and sustained assault at the hands of Aidan Cullinane and Gerard Quinlan".
The assault lasted seven minutes and the two men repeatedly hit the three young people using a crowbar.
A 22-year-old man suffered a 7cm laceration to his forehead among other injuries. A 26-year-old woman received a 4cm laceration to her scalp and three broken ribs in the incident. The third person in the house share, a 22-year-old female, required surgery and the insertion of a wire to stabilise a hand injury.
Two of the three young people were learning English at a language school in Cork city when the burglary occurred at their home.
The victim impact statements of all three were read in to evidence today. One of the victims spoke of being "permanently scarred" by the incident which also left them with broken ribs.
"Even though they are healed now, the resulting dislocation cannot be remedied. My back also suffered injuries in the incident and still today, I dare not apply pressure on where the wounds were as it might cause pain. I am also mentally shaken and impacted.
"I am now easily startled by any unfamiliar noise. I must make sure doors of my residence are properly locked, checking again and again, even after rounds of previous inspection, just for reassurance."
A second victim also spoke of the hardship they had suffered because of the incident.
"My hand and forehead still have very visible scars. Till today I would occasionally have nightmares of this incident and wake up very scared.
"I also suffered significant financial losses. I never got any refund from my tuition of the language school as I quit my study after feeling not safe in Ireland.
"I hastily left Ireland so I left a lot of personal belongings which were not recovered. I also had to come up with extra money for the flight ticket back to China. Moreover, this incident has severely disrupted my life plan. I was out of jobs and had no income for at least six months and my plan for further study and a career in Ireland had to be abandoned."
The third victim told Judge Helen Boyle that they suffered a severe injury to their right wrist and hand as a result of the attack.
"For roughly three months after the injury I could not move my right wrist as usual and I could not even take a proper shower. Even now my right hand still has one finger that cannot move properly.
"I was also mentally shaken and scarred. Even now I would get extremely nervous when I hear unfamiliar noises outside of my residence or if someone shuts a door with a loud bang.
"My family are now extremely concerned about my safety outside of China and they would staunchly oppose any of my plans to study or tour abroad, citing this incident as the reason."
A jury had found both Cullinane and Quinlan guilty of aggravated burglary and three counts of assault.
Sentencing will be finalised on 1 July with the two men being further remanded in custody to allow for the preparation of various reports.
