A FATHER OF two who threw a chemical liquid in the face of a former partner of his girlfriend leading the victim to lose an eye, has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that when gardaí called to the home of John Paul Carey (35) after the “cowardly and unprovoked” assault he refused to identify the liquid he used in the attack.

However, he asked gardaí if the victim, Francis Costello, was “still a handsome man” following the shocking incident which occurred at the family home of the injured party in Ballyphehane in Cork in March of last year.

Mr Carey, who is a native of Glanmire in Co Cork but lived in Dunmanus Crescent in Knocknaheeny, Cork, previously pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Francis Costello. 

He also pleaded guilty to assaulting John and Roy Costello on the same occasion. The three men are brothers who reside in the same property.

Detective Inspector Jason Lynch said that shortly after 8pm on 4 March, 2022, Francis Costello answered a call to his door at Connolly Road in Ballyphehane on the southside of Cork city.

When he opened the door, he was confronted by Mr Carey whom he recognised as being the relatively new partner of his ex-girlfriend of many years.

Det Inspector Lynch said Carey threw a corrosive liquid in the face of 40-year-old Francis Costello.

He told Judge James McCourt that Francis Costello was overcome with pain and dropped to the ground. Det Inspector Lynch said that John Paul Carey stood over the victim and then started to punch him.

“Francis Costello fell to the floor in severe pain. Carey assaulted him as he lay prone on the ground. His brothers Roy and John (who were in the house) came to his assistance.”

When the Costello brothers came to the door having heard the commotion Mr Carey also doused them with the liquid.

Francis lost an eye in the incident.

He also sustained chemical burns to his face and scalp.

John Costello also suffered chemical burns to both eyes. He has lost ten percent of vision in his right eye and twenty in his left arising out of the incident.

Roy Costello received chemical burns to his forearms and arms in the attack.

Gardaí found a bottle for unclogging drains outside the property.

It was sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. It was found to contain sodium hydroxide, which is caustic soda.

The house in Connolly Road was also damaged during the attack. A specialist cleaning crew had to be called in to make the property safe following the chemical attack.

In a victim impact statement Francis Costello said that the night of the offence was engraved in his memory.

“The night of the 4th of March 2022 will remain with me for the rest of my life. The physical pain I went through, I just wanted to die to stop the burning in my eyes, my face and my head as I lay on the ground crying and screaming in pain while I was being kicked and punched.

“I was praying the next blow would be fatal just to stop the suffering. Little did I know that night that for the next year I would be battling with my mental and emotional health, attending multiple procedures, surgeries and my eye being removed last October.

“I have been attending hospital as an inpatient and outpatient every week. I lost the will to live. I believe today that there is a way through anything that life may throw at me.”

Mr Costello said he had lost his job which brought “huge financial stress”.

The former retail worker said that prior to the attack he was an “outgoing confident person.”

Francis Costello added that he was grateful for the support network of friends, family and neighbours for helping to save him when he did not want to save himself.

He also thanked gardaí, the Support after Crime Serve and the Mental Health Services for their assistance.  He described his beloved children as the “driving force” in his life.

The victim impact of John Costello was read into the record. He said that it was a completely unprovoked attack which had happened at their home.

“My face was burning and my eyesight was gone. I was lucky to even have gotten my eyesight back to an extent.”

John Costello is afraid to open the door of his house arising out of the savage assault. Roy Costello opted not to give a victim impact statement.

Mr Carey, who has also been a resident of Allihies in West Cork, has 99 previous convictions.

His convictions included one for armed robbery of a post office, a prison term for possession for sale and supply of €50,000 worth of heroin and multiple road traffic offences.

Carey carried out the assaults whilst he was under the provisions of a suspended portion of a four-and-a-half year jail term he had received in 2020 for the armed robbery of a Cork post office.

Meanwhile, Defence solicitor Elizabeth O’Connell, SC, said that the guilty plea of her client had saved the injured parties from having to give evidence at a trial.

She said that Mr Carey had endured a “sad upbringing.”  She described the offence as having been “irrational”.

“He (Carey) made a decision which has wrecked the domestic stability he had achieved. It was reckless. He has an unfortunate background.”

In sentencing Judge James McCourt said that the attack occurred in the “sanctity” of the home of the three men. He said the letter of apology was “of some help” to the injured parties.

He praised Francis Costello for his enormous bravery and eloquence in delivering his victim impact statement in person in the body of the court.

He said that the evidence in relation to what the former construction worker had done to the Costello brothers had made for “harrowing” listening.

He described as an aggravating factor in the case the decision by Carey to continue to assault Francis Costello “as he lay on the ground.”

Judge McCourt said that it was a “senseless attack” which left the victims, particularly Francis, with “life altering” injuries.

He stated that the level of harm visited on Francis was “appalling”.

“I regard it as being at the upper end (of the scale). I am of the view that before I factor in mitigating factors the appropriate headline sentence is 13 years. With mitigating factors, I believe the sentence should be 10 years.”

He imposed a ten-year sentence on Mr Carey suspending the last six months of the sentence. Judge McCourt backdated the sentence to when Carey first entered into custody in relation to the matter.

Speaking outside the court, Francis Costello said that he had endured enormous suffering in the wake of the attack.

“Today I feel hope for the first time in the last 20 months. The pain that I was in (that night) I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. If I had to relive that pain again I’d rather be killed instantly.

“I have been through a lot of tough times in the last 20 minutes but I think today I am going out the other side. It is inhumane what he (Carey) did. You wouldn’t do it to an animal.

“My victim impact statement was very personal. I wanted to read it out myself. Today reading out my victim impact statement is a breakthrough for me as I continue my rehabilitation as a disabled person.”

He also thanked medical staff for their professionalism and empathy in the face of such an assault on his person.