Irish GAA star returns to New York to face her attacker in court

Courageous GAA player Alisha Jordan, 22, will soon return to New York to read a court statement against the man who attacked her two years ago in a vicious and unprovoked assault.

Jordan, from Skryne in Co. Meath, was was walking home with a friend on Katonah Avenue in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx in the early morning hours of July 14, 2012, when a man brutally attacked her with a brick.

She suffered two broken cheekbones, a broken nose, fractures to both orbital bones, an almost full set of broken teeth, and nerve damage that made her lose sight for two weeks. Doctors feared for her life. She had ten metal plates inserted into her head and two major surgeries.

Jordan recently learned that her assailant has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after changing his plea to guilty.

She will appear in court on December 19 to read a victim impact statement.

“He has openly admitted that he is the person who did it and I go to court this month,” she told The Meath Chronicle.

“Once that’s done, it’s over forever and I don’t have to deal with it again. That’s all I wanted since this started.”

In the wake of the attack, Jordan made a remarkable recovery. Though doctors initially told the passionate GAA player she might never be able to play again, Jordan made a triumphant return to New York this September for the All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship in Gaelic Park – and this after mourning the sudden death of her father in June.

After her court appearance, Jordan will remain in New York to celebrate Christmas and New Year's with her close circle of friends there. She told the paper that she will decide in the coming months whether she has her long term sights set on Ireland or New York.