Guido Nasi, the Italian man who was paralysed as a teenager after an unprovoked attack in Dublin, has died aged 43.
While studying English in Ireland as a 17-year-old, Mr Nasi was struck over the head with a beer bottle in Fairview Park during an unprovoked attack, leaving him with catastrophic brain injuries.
Italian author Massimo Tallone, who worked with him on his autobiography 'Il Lottatore' (The Fighter), confirmed the news.
Mr Nasi, who lived in Turin, returned to Ireland in 2019 with his mother, Simonetta, and met then-president Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin.
They were guests at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAC).
The family was assisted by the ITAC and, during the event to mark the organisation's work, Mr Higgins deviated from his speech to deliver an unscripted tribute to his family.
"I say to Guido, whose body was broken, and Simonetta, whose heart must be broken, there are many people in Ireland who have been humbled by the sheer force of the forgiveness and love they have indicated," he said.
He thanked Mr Nasi for retaining a positive view of Ireland "despite the grave harm that was done 20 years ago".
Mr Nasi, who was unable to walk or to speak after the attack, had secured a publishing deal for his memoirs, which he had written using adaptive technology.
During his meeting with the president, he sought his advice on publishing.
In response, the then-president, himself a published poet, recommended a leading, Italian-based translator.
In November 2001, a 31-year-old man was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail for the assault.
James Osbourne, from Forth Road, East Wall in Dublin, attacked Mr Nasi over the head with a beer bottle near Fairview Park, leaving him almost totally paralysed from the neck down.
The Italian student spent a month in a coma in Dublin before being flown back to Turin.
Mr Nasi spent an entire night typing out a victim impact statement in November 2001, through the use of a special computer attached to his wheelchair, due to limited movement in one finger.
Delivering the statement in court, he said that, in July 1999, he was enjoying "the most beautiful holiday of his life" when he was "plunged into a nightmare".
Before imposing sentence, Judge Elizabeth Dunne said she had nothing but admiration for the way in which Mr Nasi had dealt with the event.
