Man who left English tourist in coma after unprovoked attack withdraws appeal

“There was very serious violence inflicted on the streets of Dublin, with not one but two victims,” said President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham today, when the appeal by Stefan Bornac (21) came before the three-judge court.

Bornac, with an address at Woodlands Park, Naas, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Thomas Oliver and to assault causing harm to James Lightly on D’Olier Street in Dublin 2, on April 17, 2022.

Mr Oliver, a 25-year-old college student, spent three weeks in a coma at Beaumont Hospital after he was knocked unconscious in the assault.

Mr Oliver and his friend Mr Lightly were among a group of seven university friends visiting Dublin for the weekend, when there was an exchange between Mr Oliver and the occupants of a car stopped at a traffic light.

Bornac, who was aged 18 at the time, got out of the car and walked over to Mr Oliver, punching him with a right-hand swing to the temple with considerable force, before he began punching Mr Lightly several times, knocking him to the ground and then kicking him in the head.

Mr Oliver was transferred by ambulance to St James’s Hospital and intubated, then transferred to Beaumont where he was again intubated.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Oliver said that he and his family and friends would never be able to reconcile the “damage, pain and trauma” caused by the actions of Bornac. Mr Oliver said he felt like “a shell of a human” when he awoke from his induced coma, connected to 15 drip wires and breathing through a respirator, not knowing if he would ever be able to leave the hospital or resume some sort of normal life.

Bornac was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four and a half years in prison, with the final nine months suspended. He subsequently launched an appeal against this sentence.

When his case was called at the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Birmingham told counsel for the appellant Michael Bowman SC that the attack involved “very serious violence” inflicted on the streets of Dublin, with not one but two victims. Noting that the violence involved kicking someone when they were down on the ground, Mr Justice Birmingham said that “the merits of the appeal do not leap from the page”.

After consulting with his client, Mr Bowman told the court that he wished to withdraw the appeal.

Mr Justice Birmingham said that the appellant was being very sensible and had benefited from very high-quality legal advice.