Dublin train driver Mr Garry Mulligan (33), who was paralysed when he broke his neck while swimming during a holiday in Australia, had proposed to his girlfriend before the accident, the New South Wales Supreme Court was told in Dublin yesterday.
The girl he fell in love with, Ms Jennifer Brady, was with him at the time of the accident and saved his life by dragging him from the water.
The circumstances and aftermath of Mr Mulligan's accident were outlined by Mr Brian Murray QC to the Australian court which created legal history by sitting for the first time in a foreign country.
Mr Murray, for Mr Mulligan, who lives at Dolphin Park, Donnycarney, outlined what had occurred since January 24th, 1999, when Mr Mulligan broke his neck while swimming at Coffs Harbour, about a four-hour drive north of Sydney.
Mr Mulligan had taken a six-month leave from his job and had been travelling in Australia with Ms Brady.
He had been swimming on a part of a beach which he believed was safe and claims there were flags indicating it was safe. There were no warning signs displayed. He dived into what he believed was clear water but hit his head against a sandbank and broke his neck.
Mr Murray said that after the accident Mr Mulligan had spent six weeks in intensive care and then had to live in a special jacket for three months.
He said the couple had met in 1991 and had lived together from 1992 in a house on which Mr Mulligan had a mortgage. They had planned to announced their marriage when they returned to Ireland in 1999.
Mr Murray, who is leading an action for some €2.7 million damages for Mr Mulligan, said an example of his loss of independence was demonstrated during the return flight to Ireland.
He said Mr Mulligan was on a stretcher which had been suspended from the ceiling of the plane, and when the plane touched down in Dublin it became apparent the facilities for his safe removal from the aircraft were not available. He had to be flown to Belfast, where he was taken off the plane and driven back to Dublin in an ambulance.
Mr Murray said Mr Mulligan had to wait for a place in the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dún Laoghaire.
He said Mr Mulligan bought his house when he was 25, where he had lived with Ms Brady until 1999. After the accident, he moved back into the family home in Donnycarney.
His current regime included remaining in bed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, when a district nurse attended to administer a suppository to clean his bowel. On Tuesday, Thursday and weekends he had a personal care worker who could bring him out.
Mr Murray said Mr Mulligan was capable of holding a spoon and manipulate it into his mouth but could not hold a glass. He suffered very painful spasms in his shoulders and his life expectancy was also diminished.
"Garry was a young man with everything to look forward to. He had a home and a girlfriend to whom he planned to get engaged to. He had a steady job as a train driver with Irish Rail and was planning a family," Mr Murray said.
He said Mr Mulligan's sexual function had been destroyed.
In August, Mr Mulligan's legal team opened its arguments at the State Supreme Court (the equivalent of the Irish High Court) in Sydney, before adjourning to Dublin at the invitation of the High Court President, Mr Justice Finnegan.
His civil suit is against Coffs Harbour Borough Council and four New South Wales government agencies. Ms Brady has also lodged a claim for nervous shock.
The Australian court is expected to sit in Dublin for about two weeks, and will resume in Sydney on September 30th.