Two men have gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for allegedly assaulting a librarian assistant on Grafton Street in 2003, leaving him in a coma for two weeks.
Stephen Nugent (23), St Werburgh's, Swords, who is a tennis coach based in Malahide, and Dermot Cooper (28), Fosterbrook, Stillorgan, a university student, pleaded not guilty to assault causing serious harm to Barry Duggan (36) on April 13th, 2003.
Luan Ó Braonáin, prosecuting, told the jury it would be the prosecution's case that Mr Duggan fell off his bike while he was cycling down Grafton Street at about 1.50am on April 13th, following a night out with some work friends.
A group of three people, including Mr Nugent and Mr Cooper, on seeing Mr Duggan on the ground, started laughing at him and slagging him.
Mr Ó Braonáin said Mr Duggan got up and went towards the group. He made contact with the man nearest him and some pushing started. This then elevated to punching and kicking which resulted in Mr Duggan sustaining serious injuries.
Mr Duggan was assisted by people at the scene and was subsequently taken to hospital where he was admitted to intensive care and remained unconscious for two weeks.
Mr Ó Braonáin claimed Mr Nugent and Mr Cooper were involved in a joint enterprise and had a "common purpose" in assaulting Mr Duggan. He said the jury need not concern itself with whether one or the other of the two men caused the harm.
Mr Ó Braonáin said Mr Nugent and Mr Cooper made voluntary statements to gardaí in which they accepted their involvement in the incident but maintained they were either acting in self defence or defence of another.
However, Mr Ó Braonáin told the jury, the prosecution would prove that both the accused came to a stage in the altercation where the force being used by them was excessive and had gone beyond what could be reasonably considered self-defence.
The case continues before Judge Donagh McDonagh and a jury of four women and eight men.