One-punch assault that left Limerick man blind and paralysed 'like a bomb on top of the family'

Dáil committee to hear from families affected by one-punch attacks on their loved ones

Martin Lynn’s sister Sharon has been campaigning for reform following the sentencing of her brother’s attacker, Martin O’Neill, earlier this year. File picture: Collins Courts

A Limerick man who was left blind and partially paralysed following a single punch will be among those addressing members of the Joint Oireachtas committee on Tuesday.

The committee is holding a hearing on one-punch assaults, and will meet the families of Martin Lynn, who died in 2023, Cian Gallagher who passed away in 2022, and Patrick Mullally who died in 2016.

They will also meet Brian Hogan from Dooradoyle in Limerick and his sister Nevis, who will detail what life has been like for their family since he was assaulted in Nottingham in 2009. 

The assault by Martin Slack left the then 32-year-old senior quantity surveyor fighting for his life at the end of a night out with friends in the city, which had been his home after he moved to the UK. He punched Brian once, resulting in the Limerick man falling and hitting his head.

The now 39-year-old remained in hospital and in a rehabilitation unit in the UK for 10 months after the attack, before returning to Ireland. He is now living in a facility run by Acquired Brain Injury Ireland in Clarecastle, Co Clare.

His sister Nevis told the Irish Examiner the assault on Brian “was like a bomb on top of the family”.

She said he was completely blind because of damage to his optic nerve, and added: “He is wheelchair-dependent.” 

She said Brian’s story showed what happened when a one-punch assault did not kill but caused serious injuries.

“It changes the trajectory of a person’s life. All of our lives changed forever. We grieved the Brian we lost while we adjusted to having the Brian we have now.” 

She recalled following the attack, the family was told he had just a 10% chance of survival.

The Hogans have joined with the Lynn, Gallagher and Mullally families to seek improvements in the justice system for victims of one-punch assaults.

Nevis said: “The Martin Lynn sentencing framework proposes structured judicial sentencing guidelines for manslaughter and serious injury. The ask is to create a fairer more transparent system for everyone affected by unprovoked assaults.” 

Martin Lynn’s sister Sharon has been campaigning for reform following the sentencing of her brother’s attacker, Martin O’Neill, earlier this year. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

She and Cian Gallagher’s brother Brian met with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan in June as part of their campaign for reform.

Also speaking during the hearing on Tuesday will be chief executive of Alcohol Action Ireland, Sheila Gilheany. In an earlier submission to the committee, the group has called for the introduction of specific education programmes in schools, colleges and youth schemes, highlighting risks around alcohol and violence.

Ms Gilheany said: “Alcohol, crime and violence have a closely interconnected relationship. Alcohol plays a key role in crimes such as public order offences, domestic violence, assault and murder, as well as rape and sexual assault.

“While alcohol use is neither necessary nor sufficient for violence to occur, many studies have demonstrated significant, and positive, associations between alcohol consumption and rates of criminal violence, and we can say with confidence that more drinking tends to result in more violence, and less drinking tends to result in less violence."