Two young men who were involved in an attack on a group of Spanish and Romanian friends which resulted in one of the Spaniards being knocked unconscious after being hit on the head with a golf club have been jailed for three years and 18 months.
Shane Cotter (20) from Annmount, Friars Walk in Cork was sentenced to four years in jail with a year suspended after he pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to 40-year-old Spanish chef Jordi Roca at White Street in Cork on January 23rd 2012.
A co-accused, Danny O'Brien (20) from Brandon Cottages, Dillon's Cross, Cork was sentenced to 30 months in jail with 12 months suspended after he pleaded guilty to violent disorder arising from the same incident.
Det Garda Stephen Fuller told how Mr Roca and three Spanish and one Romanian friend were attacked after they refused cigarettes to two girls at White Street and three males then joined in and began attacking them.
Mr Roca was trying to pacify the situation when O'Brien fetched a golf club from the boot of his BMW and Cotter took it from him and went up and smashed it into the side of Mr Roca's head, fracturing his skull and knocking him unconscious.
Mr Roca was removed in an unconcious staff by paramedics to Cork University Hospital but he regained consciousness the next morning and underwent emergency surgery to repair the damage to his skull, said Det Garda Fuller.
He received some 21 staples and he had screws insert to keep his skull together, said Det Garda Fuller, adding that the most serious consequence of the assault was that he had lost his sense of taste which had a serious impact on his life as he was a chef.
He had been working in a delicatessan in Cork at the time and planning to apply for jobs as a chef but as a result of his injury and his inability to taste food, he has been unable to apply for any work as a chef, said Det Garda Fuller.
Neither Cotter nor O'Brien were drinking or taking drugs at the time of the attack and Cotter later told gardai in interview that he had intended killing Mr Roca on the night, the court heard. "I was in a temper, I wanted to kill him," Cotter told gardaí.
Both men apologised for the attack with Cotter telling Judge Patrick Moran that he was the person who attacked Mr Roca and his co-accused, O'Brien should not be punished for what he had done.
Judge Moran noted that Cotter had 49 previous convictions including five for assault causing harm while O'Brien had 84 previous convictions and he was still at a loss as to why they had attacked Mr Roca and his friends.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Roca said that he was not happy with the sentences imposed on the two men and said he believed they were far too lenient for the violent assault which has impacted hugely on his life.
"I am not happy with these sentences. I have no sense of taste as a result of this attack - if you owned a restaurant, would you employ a chef who cannot taste what he cooks - this is what I have to live with for the rest of my life," said Mr Roca.
