A man who attacked another man's eyes minutes after settling a dispute with him has been jailed for 18 months by Judge Elizabeth Dunne. A medical report said that Mr Nicholas Wall's right eye had been "viciously and violently probed with fingers" when he was attacked by Robert Clarke. Mr Wall also suffered temporary blindness to his left eye.
Clarke (27), Mountainview Road, Rathfarnham, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Wall, a computer worker, at Roches town Avenue on October 25th, 1996. Det Garda Eamonn O'Dowd told Ms Pauline Walley, prosecuting, that after shaking hands following a scuffle outside a night-club, Clarke followed Mr Wall and jumped on him, stuck his fingers in his eyes and bit and kicked him. Mr Martin Giblin SC, defending, said Clarke was "out of his mind on drink" at the time but was not trying to use this as an excuse.
