American tourist Stephen Termini, who was beaten unconscious in Dublin’s north inner city, is hoping to gain Irish citizenship and access the Republic’s health system to treat his ongoing injuries because healthcare in the US is so expensive.
Currently in Co Mayo, where his grandmother live before emigrating to the US, he said he had previously made a direct appeal for Irish citizenship to former minister for justice Helen McEntee. She said it was “not within her power” to grant him citizenship.
He now hopes a new bid to secure Irish citizenship will be successful, noting he had documents to prove his grandmother came from Newport, where he plans to stay for another two weeks.
Now going by the name Stephen Wilson Donnelly, in tribute to his grandparents, the 58-year-old said his health was “totally different” since being attacked by a teenage gang, adding “what I used to be able to do I can no longer do”.
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“I could never see myself sitting on a horse again, I know that much,” he said just days after the final teenager to be sentenced for the attack was jailed by the courts in Dublin. “It’s very painful to be anywhere and do anything, every day. Last night was pretty painful for me. I walked a little bit too much in Dublin waiting for my train, just walking set me back with the pain.”
He was left unconscious after the attack on the night of July 19th, 2023, on Store Street, having first been confronted by the teenagers on nearby Talbot Street.
The incident prompted a wide-ranging public debate on the safety of the city centre and the number of gardaí on the streets. Shortly afterwards, Ms McEntee announced millions in extra funding for Garda overtime to police the city.
Mr Termini, who had worked in a galvanising factory in New York, suffered extensive head and brain injuries, and surgery was required to save the sight in one of his eyes. However, the true impact of his injuries did not become apparent until he began having seizures, including a major episode last April when he was back in New York.
“When I had that seizure, my brain started bleeding again, I had that seizure driving a car on my way to work. The discs in my spine ruptured so they had to do emergency surgery and put titanium rods in my back so I’d be able to walk again.”
He said those health issues had resulted in chronic pain in his body from the waist down, though it sometimes also impacts his hands and elsewhere.
A now 17-year-old youth, who initiated the attack, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm last month and was sentenced to 20 months’ detention last Wednesday. Two other boys separately pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm and violent disorder. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a 32-month period of detention on the second boy involved in the attack last July, and a 26-month period on the third boy last October.
A medical report outlined Mr Termini sustained bleeding to the brain along with skull, orbital and cheek fractures. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court also heard Mr Termini had medical bills of €103,000.
The court was told “jump kicking” was a feature of the attack. There were a total of four kicks, including a “roundhouse type kick” and a “two-footed jump kick”.
“I never wished for anything bad to happen to these kids. I’m not drawn into hate, I’m drawn into love,” Mr Termini said of the boys who attacked him – aged 14, 15 and 16 years at time.
It was not until last week that he saw the full video footage of the attack on him, including laying unconscious on the ground.
“I saw my dead body lying on the ground, and it wasn’t a good experience,” he said. “I knew I was dead there for a minute because I had a strange experience, an out-of-body experience. To see it again was real heartbreaking for me.”
