Former Irish pool player left ‘unrecognisable’ after man threw acid in his face at house party

A former Ireland international pool player, who was left disfigured following an alleged acid attack, told a court on Tuesday he was “unrecognisable” immediately afterwards due to the extent of his injuries.
Ian Pickford (24), Garryowen, Limerick, told the trial of his alleged attacker, John Cross, that he had no doubt it was Mr Cross who threw an acid substance in his face.
Mr Pickford, a former Limerick intermediate pool champion who was also capped for Ireland at junior level, identified Mr Cross in court as the person who flung the “corrosive substance” at him.
Mr Cross, (35), with an address at St Lawrence’s Park, Garryowen, denies one count of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Mr Pickford, during a house party at Mr Cross’s home, in the early hours of June 14th, 2020.
On the opening day of the trial at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Pickford gave evidence of the impact of being burned by an acid substance: “I was unrecognisable at the time it happened. It was the worst I ever felt, I felt terrible and I didn’t know why it happened”.
The witness said that following the attack he went to his parents’ home, located nearby, and his father rushed him to University Hospital Limerick where he said the doctors and nurses “saved me”.
Mr Pickford said he was transferred to the specialist burns unit at Cork University Hospital where he spent three days before being transferred to St James’s Hospital, Dublin, where he spent the following three months undergoing more specialist treatment for his injuries.
The jury of seven women and five men were shown photographs of extensive injuries to Mr Pickford’s head, face and chest.
“I had multiple skin grafts put on my face which were taken from my left thigh, and put across my forehead, my cheek and my two eyelids,” Mr Pickford explained.
Mr Pickford said he underwent four surgeries to try to heal the scarring on his upper body.
“I had terrible pain after the procedures across my face, one of the skin grafts never took and I got a blood clot so they [surgeons]) had to redo it,” he said.
He added that he “lost some sight” in his left eye and that he no longer plays pool competitively.
Mr Pickford, who said he had known Mr Cross for a number of years and lived close to his house, was asked by prosecution barrister John O’Sullivan to show the jury up close the extensive scarring across his head, face and neck.
Photographs of clothing containing scorch marks and burned holes, that had been worn by Mr Pickford at the time of the alleged acid attack, were also shown to the jury.
Asked by Mr O’Sullivan who was the person who threw the acid into his face, Mr Pickford replied, “John Cross”.
“You have no doubt,” Mr O’Sullivan asked.
“None,” the witness replied.
Mr Pickford said that a few months before the alleged attack he had been charged before the courts with having a “very small amount of cocaine” which he said was “for a friend”.
Under cross examination, Mr Pickford agreed with Mr Cross’s barrister, senior counsel Brian McInerney, that he had consumed at least eight cans of cider on the night prior to the alleged attack, but he disagreed with Mr McInerney that he was probably “drunk”.
Mr Pickford replied: “I still know who done it to me, I seen who did it to me”.
Mr Pickford agreed with Mr McInerney that he had told gardaí that a “tall man with a husky voice” who he did not know had said to him immediately after the alleged incident, “that’s what you get for being a rat”.
Mr Pickford said he believed this was a comment “referring to the time I got caught with the cocaine” but he did not know why he had been attacked.
The trial continues.