Romanian man jailed for killing Canadian tourist with running kick to the head

Alison O'Riordan

A Romanian national who killed a Canadian tourist in Dublin city centre by "brazenly" delivering a "full force running kick" straight to his head has been jailed for five and a half years.

Sentencing 25-year-old Ionut Danca at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Judge Paul McDermott said this was an attack on a defenceless man, who was lying prone on the ground under the influence of alcohol and was no threat to anyone.

He added: "The kick to the head was deliberately aimed and carried out brazenly in public view on a main street in Dublin city. There was no need and no justification for this".

Instead of Danca getting help or walking away, the judge said the defendant had run at Canadian national Neno Dolmajian, kicking him in the head, causing his death, resulting in the loss of "such a valuable life".

Judge McDermott went on to say that the victim came across as a "positive person" who was full of life, vigour, creativity and laughter.

He said Dolmajian was visiting Dublin from Canada, looking for new experiences and to engage with new people in a positive way.

Describing the incident as "devastating", the judge said there was nothing the court could do or say to relieve the devastation suffered by the Dolmajian family.

"The finite nature of what the court does in imposing sentence is nothing compared with the absolute loss and lifetime loss for those who are left to grieve in the wake of a killing such as this".

Ionut Danca (25), pleaded guilty last year to the unlawful killing of Neno Dolmajian (42) on July 2nd, 2024, at O'Connell St Upper.

Danca's co-accused, Madalin Ghiuzan (24), had pleaded guilty to assaulting Dolmajian, causing him harm at Cathal Brugha St, Dublin 1.

The judge said on Tuesday that the appropriate sentence for the "spontaneous and short-lived" assault inflicted by Ghiuzan was 12 months in prison.

However, as the offender had already spent four-and-a-half months in custody, he was satisfied that the balance should be suspended in full for 12 months from today.

Dolmajian was assaulted on June 23rd, 2024 and died nine days later, having been treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the Mater Hospital.

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.

The murder charge against Danca and the manslaughter charge against Ghiuzan are no longer being pursued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Earlier this month, Sergeant Donal Byrne 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 2nd.

On the day he suffered the fatal injury, Dolmajian was drinking and after midnight, he encountered a number of males, including the two defendants, outside the Living Room nightclub on Cathal Brugha Street.

There was a row, during which Ghiuzan punched and pushed 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.

Dolmijian then followed the group to O'Connell St, where there was a further series of interactions in which Dolmijian was again pushed to the ground before Danca delivered a "running kick straight to the face" of the victim.

Before passing sentence on Tuesday, Judge McDermott welcomed the Dolmajian family, who attended via video-link from Canada, to the sentence hearing. He said Neno Dolmajian was born in Canada and had been raised by his family, who had moved from Armenia some 51 years ago.

The judge said it was accepted that on four occasions Danca could be seen trying to act as a peacemaker, but that the victim had gone back to the group and directed comments which were of "some profanity" at Danca.

He said Danca had lost his temper and given "a full force running kick" to the victim's head. He said Danca knew there was no need for the kick to the victim's head and that there had been a significant gap between the "flooring" of the deceased and the kick, which he said had been shocking to watch.

The judge said to inflict a kick like that on the deceased's unprotected head placed the offence on the upper end of the medium range for manslaughter, which is between four and ten years.

The judge set the headline sentence for Danca at eight years.

He noted the defendant's plea of guilty to manslaughter and that he had no prior convictions. He said Danca had come to Ireland from Romania at a young age and had been a hard worker.

Judge McDermott sentenced Danca to six years in prison but said he would suspend the last six months for a period of two years.

The judge pointed out that the law may seem very "dry and removed" from the grief suffered by those who are left behind. "All I can say is that these crimes should never have been committed and I extend my sympathies to the family".

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