A man who stabbed a Dublin GAA star just hours after he hijacked a taxi has been jailed for five years.
Jonny Cooper was on his way home from a night out last year when he was jumped on Dorset Street.
Mark Lavell with an address at Basin Street in Dublin 8 admitted the “unprovoked and frenzied" attack. The court heard the 32-year-old was on crystal meth at the time.
Lavelle, originally from Mayo, also admitted assaulting Thomas Smith in Palmerstown on the Saturday morning and to hijacking Mr Smith's car.
Fotballer Cooper received nine stab wounds to his forehead, eyelid and neck area and spent one night in hospital.
He had no recollection of the assault and gardaí were called to the scene after a passing taxi driver noticed the footballer stumbling along Dorset Street with his back covered in blood.
Officers later followed a trail of blood from where they met Mr Cooper to a nearby chipper and secured CCTV footage from the restaurant.
Lawyers for Lavelle said he suffered from a mental disorder and had been with the State's psychiatric services since his mid-teens.
His 62 previous convictions include assaults, criminal damage, possession of knives, possession of drugs, burglary, robbery, violent behaviour in a garda station, trespass, public order and altering a prescription.
The final two years of his seven year jail term have been suspended.
