Darragh Lyons

Darragh Lyons, 19, has been jailed for four and a half years for taking part in a gang attack on then-17-year-old Alanna Quinn Idris in Ballyfermot, ...

He also took Lyons' age into account, stating that young people do "irrational and stupid" things. She said she now has to live the rest of her life disabled, adding that the woman she was supposed to become "died that night." Handing down the sentence on Thursday, March 23, Judge Martin Nolan said the attack was "premeditated" and "savage", adding that Quinn Idris was trying to protect her friend, who was the target of the attack.

A TEENAGER who took part in what a judge termed a “savage attack” that left a seventeen-year-old girl blind in one eye has been sentenced to four.

Sometimes I wish I never woke up from when I was hit with that object.” [Dublin](http://www.thesun.ie/where/dublin/) 20, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm and violent disorder on Ballyfermot Road on December 30, 2021. The court heard that Ms Quinn Idris was knocked unconscious after she was hit in the side of the face with the saddle of an electric scooter wielded by another of the accused. Lyons did not wield any weapon in the attack, but punched Ms Quinn Idris on the side of her face and was also involved in punching and kicking Mr O’Sullivan. [Alanna Quinn Idris](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10428105/alanna-quinn-idris-attack-ballyfermot-victim-impact-statement/), now aged 18, was hit in the face with the saddle of an electric scooter by another member of the gang, fracturing her eye socket and leaving her permanently blind in her right eye. A TEENAGER who took part in a “savage attack” that left a 17-year-old girl blind in one eye has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

In a judgement delivered today Judge Martin Nolan condemned what he said was a pre-meditated, savage attack that involved collaboration between the young ...

Ms Quinn Idris was taken by ambulance to St James Hospital with a broken eye socket and then transferred to the Eye and Ear Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. A letter from a counsellor said Lyons has engaged in regular counselling with “significant success and honesty”. Lyons and three others waited on the far side of the road from Ms Quinn Idris and Mr O’Sullivan. He has since re-enrolled back into education and a letter from his former homeschool liaison officer described Lyons as an asset to the classroom and someone who was kind and compassionate to others. Dean Kelly SC, defending Lyons, said his client was not involved in the “abusive and loutish behaviour” towards both victims on the bus. A probation report placed Lyons as at moderate risk of reoffending within the next 12 months. Another of the group then took the saddle from his electric scooter and started attacking Mr O’Sullivan. A knife was later found at the scene but was not attributed to Lyons. Ms Quinn Idris has since had numerous reconstructive surgeries to her right eye socket and a bone graft taken from her hip. Sometimes I wish I never woke up from when I was hit with that object,” Ms Quinn Idris told the court. Lyons also admitted assaulting causing harm to Ms Quinn Idris' friend Louis O’Sullivan during the same attack. Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of eight to nine years but reduced this on account of mitigating factors including Lyons’ early plea, his cooperation, his lack of previous convictions and his young age.

Alanna Quinn Idris said her life as she knew it “came to an abrupt end” on the night of the attack.

Dean Kelly SC, defending Lyons, said his client was not involved in the “abusive and loutish behaviour” of the other suspects towards both victims on the bus. Quinn Idris was taken by ambulance to St James Hospital with a broken eye socket and then transferred to the Eye and Ear Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. A letter from a counsellor said Lyons has engaged in regular counselling with “significant success and honesty”. He has since re-enrolled back into education and a letter from his former homeschool liaison officer described Lyons as an asset to the classroom and someone who was kind and compassionate to others. There were some verbal exchanges before the gang, with Lyons leading the fray, crossed the road and punched Quinn Idris once on the side of her face, causing her to fall back into a wall. A knife was later found at the scene but was not attributed to Lyons. Another accused then took the saddle from his electric scooter and started attacking O’Sullivan. Quinn Idris has since had numerous reconstructive surgeries to her right eye socket and a bone graft taken from her hip. Two other men are facing trial in relation to the attack and cannot be named, while a fourth man could not be identified. Sometimes I wish I never woke up from when I was hit with that object,” Quinn Idris told the court. I’ve never been the most confident girl, but I had a little, until my attackers took that away,” she said. Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of eight to nine years but reduced this on account of mitigating factors including Lyons’ early plea, his cooperation, his lack of previous convictions and his young age.

19-year-old Darragh Lyons wasn't the one who struck her in the face but he was part of the gang that attacked her.

Darragh Lyons (19) wasn’t the one who struck her in the face with the saddle of an E-scooter but he was part of the gang that attacked her. She said what little confidence she had was also taken. Darragh Lyons wasn’t the one who delivered the blow that cost Alanna her vision in her left eye, but he was held culpable by joint enterprise.