A 20-year-old man was assaulted by a "large group of males" on Wexford's North Main Street over the bank holiday weekend.
Kyle Lewis' father said his son's face was left "unrecognisable"by the group.
The young man had separated from his friends after a night out as he had work the next morning and wanted to be sure he got a taxi.
After failing to get a taxi, he decided to head back to his friends when seven men attacked him outside Ulster Bank building. They knocked him to the ground and kicked and punched him several times until his friends came out from The Centenary Stores nightclub to his assistance.
Speaking to Wexford People Newspaper Kyle’s father said "He has fairly substantial facial injuries, his face is all swollen; he’s unrecognisable. He has bruising to his face, his front teeth were smashed in half, his lips are split, he can’t eat solid foods; the back of his head is all swollen from where his head was kicked while he was on the floor. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.”
Martin and his wife received a phone call at 2am from their son Kyle who was in a state. They immediately went to Kyle's assistance on Charlotte Street where he was already speaking to Gardaí.
Martin drove Kylle straight to the hospital where he stayed overnight.
“He was very lucky,” Martin said. “Kyle is a big, fit lad and he does weights and all that type of thing. He tried to defend himself and in the end, that could have saved his life, because it gave him time until his mates saw what was going on and jumped in. It could've been much worse. Those boys that did this could be up for manslaughter.
"I think really they’re going to have to look at the Main Street and people’s safety. I think the authorities have got to take note of incidents like this and see how they can make it better. There'll be more bank holidays and more and more groups arriving when the weather gets fine. We need to ensure people are safe.
"I spoke to the owner of (Ray's Diner) and he said that since those silver bollards went in near Greenacres, it’s made it more difficult for the guards to get down to the likes of Charlotte Street with the van in a hurry. He reckons it will only be a matter of time before somebody is seriously hurt.”
"He's back home now and he’s doing as well as can be expected,” Martin said. “He hasn’t really left the house because his face has been completely smashed. He can't really eat properly or anything at the moment either. I am concerned that mentally he’ll be impacted by it.
"He's very lucky though. Two separate doctors at the hospital said it was a miracle that it was a miracle that there wasn’t a worse outcome.”
Gardaí have stated that they are following “a definite line of enquiry” and that “CCTV footage will play a big part in the investigation”. They also confirmed that the incident involved a “large group of males”, believed to be from outside the county.
