The mother of an Irish man who died after an assault in Sydney has made an emotional plea, saying she did not want her son's killer to be sent to jail.
Gearóid Walsh (23) suffered severe head injuries in an attack at Coogee on Sunday, and died in Prince of Wales hospital in Sydney last night.
A 28-year-old man who gave himself up to police has been charged in connection with the death.
The man, from the suburb of Clovelly, has been charged with one count each of manslaughter, reckless wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the incident. The man walked into Maroubra police station with his lawyer at 4.30pm local time (5.30am Irish time).
He was refused bail and is due to appear in Parramatta Bail Court by video link tomorrow.
Mr Walsh had been drinking with his brother Ciarán (27) at pubs in the beachside suburb of Coogee last Sunday night before he got into an argument with a man at a kebab shop. Initially, the brothers left, but Gearóid returned moments later and the argument continued. The man punched Mr Walsh, who stumbled and fell, hitting his head on the ground.
By the time police arrived at the scene, Mr Walsh had stopped breathing and was in cardiac arrest. He was taken to a nearby hospital with severe head injuries and was placed on life support.
His mother Tressa arrived in Sydney on Wednesday. Mr Walsh died last night after his family decided to take him off life support.
Speaking at an emotional press conference in Sydney earlier today, Mrs Walsh appealed for the man who attacked her son to give himself up. "I'd really like to say that as a mother I really feel for this guy who got into a fight with Gearóid," she said.
"I am heartbroken for him because we don't blame him, we don't want him to serve time in prison. I think he was just very, very unlucky," she said. "We don't want him to torture himself over this. I don¿t see this as a murder".
Mrs Walsh said her son was "a quiet and very introverted young man".
"He was six foot two; he had a long way to fall. Even though Gearóid was a big guy, he wasn't a fighter at all," said Mrs Walsh, whose husband died three years ago.
Mr Walsh moved to Australia just five weeks ago to escape the recession at home. "He came to Australia to spend time in this beautiful country and to be with his older brother Ciarán and sister Aoife (22), who are lucky to live here," Mrs Walsh said.
The past five weeks had been the happiest of her son's life, she added. Last weekend was his first time in Sydney. He and his brother had come down from Brisbane to celebrate their sister's 22nd birthday.
She said her son's organs will help six Australians live who might otherwise have died.
Mrs Walsh praised the Australian police and Irish people in Sydney. "The Irish community has been unbelievable, they have helped us so much," she said. "Our lives will never be the same."
Tributes have been paid to Mr Walsh on the Irish football forum foot.ie where he was a regular and popular poster.
Detective Superintendent Shayne Woolbank, the head of Sydney's Eastern Beaches local area command, said that while there are "a large number of Irish backpackers in Coogee", there was "no racial element" involved in the fight that led to Mr Walsh's death.
Det Woolbank said "alcohol was certainly a factor" in the fight, but would not comment on what caused the argument. "It only takes one hit. We can see the consequences today," he said.
In August 2008, Corkman David Keohane (30) was viciously assaulted very close to where Mr Walsh was attacked. He was flown back to Ireland while still in a coma, from which he emerged on St Patrick's Day. A 20-year-old man, Thomas Isaako, was has been committed for trial for the attempted murder of Mr Keohane.
