Mother of assault victim prays for his attackers

THE mother of a Limerick man who has been hospitalised since he was viciously beaten eight months ago has forgiven his attackers and prays for them.

Josephine Franklin whose son, Denis, 21, was brutally attacked by a number of people in Cork City on February 17, said doctors gave little hope that he would ever recover.

“Denis is still the same way. The doctors say he is medically brain dead. He can open his eyes but he can’t see,” Mrs Franklin said.

Her son was transferred from Cork University Hospital to Limerick Regional Hospital five weeks ago so he could be near his family’s home in Pallasgreen, Co Limerick.

“We visit him each evening and we talk to him hoping he can hear us. But there are no visible signs of a response. We’re hoping and praying for a miracle,” Mrs Franklin said.

The mother of six said seeing Denis in that condition was very difficult, especially for her youngest son, twelve-year-old Thomas.

“It’s very hard on him, you can see little things upsetting him,” she said.

She’s also very concerned about increasing street violence and the safety of two of her teenage sons, John, 18, and Martin, 16.

“There’s so much violence out there, it’s happening all the time. I’m naturally worried about them,” Mrs Franklin said.

Denis, a first year chemistry student at Cork Institute of Technology, was beaten up three weeks after 28-year-old Christian Scully was beaten unconscious in another attack in Cork city centre.

Mr Scully died in Cork University Hospital last week.

“When we heard the news about Christian Scully we were devastated. He’d been on the same floor of the hospital as Denis for several months,” Mrs Franklin said.

She attended Christian’s funeral and there spoke with his mother, Marie. “It was a very emotional moment for the both of us. All she said was that Christian had gone to heaven,” Mrs Franklin said.

Gardaí interviewed five people after the attack on Denis Franklin and have sent a file to the DPP.

“We haven’t heard back anything on that yet. I forgive them for what they did to Denis and I pray for them as well,” Mr Franklin said.

She added that she hoped the people of Ireland would also pray for her son and the miracle recovery the Franklin family long for.