A man who bit off a piece of another man's nose in a drink- and drug-fuelled fight over a missing €50 has been jailed for four years by Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Eric Jackson (22), Cross Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, and his friend, Stephen Griffin, returned from an "early house" after spending the night drinking and taking cocaine to an apartment at Eden Park in DúLaoghaire where Mr Richie Halligan was asleep on the couch.
The court heard a fight started after they accused him of taking €50 from the table. Jackson smashed a mug over Mr Halligan's nose.
Both Jackson and Griffin began to kick and punch him and Jackson bit Mr Halligan's nose.
Jackson then picked up a piece of Mr Halligan's nose from the floor and threw it out the window.
Mr Halligan left the apartment with his face covered in blood and walked for 15 minutes before reaching St Michael's Hospital, where the gardaí were called.
Jackson pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Halligan, causing him serious harm on February 15th, 2003.
Griffin (23), Auburn Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, received a three-month suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to assault.
Judge O'Donnell said the consequences for Mr Halligan were severe. "There is no doubt that his life has turned upside down and he can't work as a result."
When gardaí took Mr Halligan to the spot where the piece of nose had been thrown out the window, they were unable to find it.
After one failed attempt, Mr Halligan underwent a successful skin graft operation on his nose by a surgeon in the Blackrock Clinic. He was due to undergo further cosmetic surgery in the coming months.
He said: "I was unaware of the injury inflicted on me until I left and I saw my reflection in a car window. It's hard to describe how I felt when I was in the hospital and couldn't really believe it.
"Psychologically it has messed me up a lot and I'm self-conscious of it all the time."
Griffin told his counsel, Mr Paul Coffey SC, that he was very sorry about the incident and said it should never have happened. He added that he had brought €4,000 to court as an unconditional indication of his remorse and could get more if required.
Mr Brendan Grehan SC, for Jackson, said the incident happened after Jackson had taken a heavy cocktail of alcohol and cocaine. Jackson had good career prospects in the computer industry and had no previous convictions.
He had expressed genuine remorse and the chances of him re-offending were low.
Judge O'Donnell suspended the final year of the four-year sentence after he was told Jackson had brought €5,000 to court.