A prison officer told Limerick Circuit Court that he fought for his life as he was attacked by three prisoners. One of the attackers held a weapon to him and told him: "I am going to fucking kill you, you are going to fucking die."
One of the prisoners went to slash his head with a weapon. He received 75 stitches and has a permanent scar on his face.
Before Judge Sean O'Leary yesterday was Mr Paul Dixon (33) of Brendan House, Brendan Road, Dublin, who pleaded not guilty to a charge that he intentionally or recklessly caused serious harm to a prison officer, Mr Alan Kavanagh, at Limerick prison on January 5th last.
Mr Kavanagh said that at 7.20 p.m. on January 5th he was passing Cell 11 in D Wing of the prison, where the defendant and two other prisoners were.
As he walked down past the cell door he was grabbed from behind. Two prisoners whom he knew grabbed each of his arms. Mr Dixon got in between the two.
Mr Dixon pulled back the witness's head and had a weapon in his hand, he said. It was a blade or blades.
He drew the weapon down his throat. "I was cut from my jaw back up behind my ear. The end piece of my ear lobe was detached." He was also stabbed on the upper left arm and a prisoner tried to bite his neck and shoulder. He managed to struggle free and call for help.
He was taken to St John's Hospital and Limerick Regional Hospital, where he received 2 1/2 hours of micro-surgery and had 75 stitches.
Cross-examined by Mr John O'Sullivan, for Mr Dixon, he denied that just before the alleged attack he had grabbed Mr Dixon and hit him on the head with a bunch of keys, or that he inflicted a cut on the head of the accused. He also denied that he had had a row with Mr Dixon the previous day and had given him a "dig" from behind.
John Garvan, who is serving a life sentence, said that on January 4th, Mr Dixon came into the cell and said that five prison officers had gone into his cell the previous night and one of the officers punched him in the back of the head.
Garvan said he told him to make a complaint to the governor or a chief prison officer. The accused had told him that he felt like smashing the prison officer's face in and stabbing him.
Garvan was a cleaner on D4 landing and on the evening of January 5th he saw Officer Kavanagh staggering with blood on his face and saw him fall to the floor. He saw the accused directly behind him and he had a weapon.
Garvan has since been transferred to Wheatfield Prison and he denied in cross-examination by the defence that he was receiving favourable treatment from the prison authorities for giving evidence against Mr Dixon.
The trial continues.