A Buffalo, New York man who saved up money for a year to take a trip to his ancestral home in Ireland was the victim of a brutal attack in Dublin last week when he was set upon by a group of teenagers, The New York Post reported.
Stephen Termini, 57, spent the last year working odd jobs to save the money for his dream trip. But last Wednesday, he was attacked by a group of teens near the Garda (police) station on Store Street in Dublin, RTE reported.
The Garda said Termini had been repeatedly beaten and kicked after leaving his accommodations at a guesthouse in a particularly dangerous neighborhood.
According to his family, the attack was so brutal that Termini may lose an eye and could “suffer lifelong disability.”
His son Mike Rizzuto told RTE that his father was so excited about the trip to Ireland, “saving up every penny” while “doing odd jobs” just to have the money to go.
Rizzuto described his father as a proud Irish-American who frequently spoke about the family’s Irish heritage and its importance. He said the trip was his father’s way of honoring his family.
Termini remains at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin in intensive care. Meanwhile, his family in the States is trying to raise money to visit him.
In the GoFundMe set up for the family, his sister Michelle wrote that her brother “always dreamed of visiting Ireland” and tried to trace the family that left Dublin to emigrate to the United States.
According to the Garda, one of the teenagers who allegedly participated in last week’s attack was arrested on Sunday and appeared in Children’s Court this week.
In a tweet on Friday, Helen McEntee, Ireland’s Minister for Justice, condemned the assault and called for recruiting more officers for the Garda and giving the police “the tools to fight crime.”
