Neno Dolmajian was visiting to see a Liam Gallagher concert when he encountered a group and was kicked to the ground.
The family have urged for a hefty sentence for his killers(Image: PA)
A tourist who had visited to attend a concert tragically never made it as he was kicked to the ground after a row outside a nightclub and died in hospital days later.
Neno Dolmajian had travelled to Ireland from Canada to see Liam Gallagher perform in the summer of 2024 when he was fatally attacked.
The 42-year-old, who had travelled alone, was brutally punched and “kicked in the face” on a Dublin street on June 23 that year, reports Dublin Live.
Neno came across a group of men outside a nightclub near O’Connell St when a row broke out and he was punched to the ground. The Central Criminal Court heard how the Canadian then went after the group when he was kicked in the face by one of the men who will soon be sentenced for his murder.
Though Neno was rushed and treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the Mater Hospital, he died nine days later on July 2.
His grief-stricken sister, Maral Dolmajian said Neno had the “soul and sensitivity of an artist”, was curious about the world and loved to learn as much as he could.
She said her brother’s death has forever destroyed their family.
Ms Dolmajian said: “My parents have always gone above and beyond to help family and friends. They have always been the most generous with their time and energy. The consequence of all this goodness, all these good deeds, was their only son being killed. Their son who wouldn’t even hurt a fly. Their son who had never gotten into fights, who got on with everyone and was loved by everyone.”
She said bad things happen to good people, and her brother was a “good person, kind, funny, thoughtful and a joy to be around. He made people feel seen and valued. Everyone loved him.”
Ms Dolmajian said she lives with the “unbearable guilt” that she was not able to keep her brother safe and thinks of his final moments every day: “How he was punched and shoved to the ground and kicked in the head at full force… I think about how Ionut Danca treated my brother’s head like a football. I think about how unnecessary and violent it was. I wonder what kind of person would do that, and why? Why would they be that violent towards someone they just met?”
Her brother’s life had value, she said, and he did not deserve to die in the manner he did. “He deserved to live a long and happy life, but his life was taken from him, it was taken from us.”
She asked Mr Justice Paul McDermott to impose a sentence on his killer that reflects the violence her brother suffered and acknowledges the family’s loss.
Ionut Danca (25) pleaded guilty last year to the unlawful killing of Neno Dolmajian on July 2, 2024 at O’Connell St Upper.
Danca’s co-accused, Madalin Ghiuzan (24), pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Dolmajian, causing him harm at Cathal Brugha St, Dublin 1.
Danca, a construction worker from Romania but with an address at Rathdown Square, North Circular Road, Dublin 7 had previously been charged with murder. Ghiuzan, originally from Romania but with an address at Summerhill Parade, Dublin 1, had a manslaughter charge brought against him.
Following the guilty pleas, the murder charge against Danca and the manslaughter charge against Ghiuzan are not being pursued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Sgt Donal Byrne today told prosecutor Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC that the victim was a Canadian national of Armenian heritage. He had an interest in music and playing the guitar and was travelling alone. He arrived in Ireland in June 2024, was staying at the Ivy Exchange and was due to leave on July 2.
On the day he suffered the fatal injury, Mr Dolmijan was drinking and after midnight, he encountered a number of males, including the two defendants, outside the Living Room nightclub on Cathal Brugha St. There was a row during which Ghiuzan punched and pushed Mr Domijian, causing him to fall to the ground.
He remained on the ground for more than one minute and struggled to get back to his feet, the garda said. Mr Dolmijian then followed the group to O’Connell St where there was a further series of interactions in which Mr Dolmijian was again pushed to the ground before Danca delivered a “running kick straight to the face” of the deceased.
Eoin Lawlor SC, for Danca, said his client was initially trying to act as a peacemaker and displayed no aggression. He said something changed either as a result of Mr Dolmajian striking the accused or insulting his family.
He said his client accepts that what he did was wrong and has written a “sincere apology” to the deceased’s family. He asked the court to consider a reference by Danca’s employer describing him as having an “exemplary work ethic”. He has no previous convictions, wants to create a good life for himself and his partner and is unlikely to come before the courts again, Mr Lawlor said.
Morgan Shelley SC, for Ghiuzan, said but for the “extremely tragic” events that followed his client’s assault on Mr Dolmajian, his case might have been dealt with in the lower courts. He asked Mr Justice McDermott to consider imposing a fully suspended sentence. The court will deliver sentence next Tuesday, February 17.
