Lord of the Dance
Father of Irish teenage acid attack victim says he'll never stop fighting for justice
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Father of Irish teenage acid attack victim says he'll never stop fighting for justice

THE FATHER of an Irish teenager involved in an acid attack in April has stressed that he won't stop fighting for justice after being informed the juveniles who attacked his son would not be prosecuted.

Oisin Killilea Daly was one of the three victims and suffered bad burns across his back during an attack in Waterford earlier in the year.

Another victim, 16-year-old Tega Agberhiere, suffered horrific burns to the face and initially feared he would lose his sight permanently.

Agberhiere was a promising young footballer, appearing for Ireland's U-17 side on a number of occasions prior to the incident. He received a message of support from Ireland manager Mick McCarthy a few days after the attack.

The other victim, Padraig Sullivan, was a promising hurling player, but due to the attack, he's had to undergo three skin grafts, and won't be able to play for at least two years.

Four young males, one minor, two aged 18 and one aged 19, were arrested after the attack at Earlscourt Housing Estate in Waterford.

However, the Director of Public Prosecutions caused outrage among the families of the victims after deciding not to bring charges against the four teenagers.

Speaking on RTE's Liveline, Oisin's father Martin described the decision as "madness".

"Eight months later, I get a phone call from a local garda saying no prosecution," he said.

"This is why I’m going public, this is madness.

"I’m not going to give up, if I’ve to go fight for them, I’ll fight for them.

"It’s not over for me anyway, definitely not.

The furious father added that his son had "third-degree burns on his back, burnt through his jacket, his jumper, his T-shirt. He still has scarring now; I presume at this point he will probably have scarring for life.

"That’s just physically, never mind the emotional part of all this."