# Man sentenced for assault causing harm after Dame Street bottle attack Case 2997. Assault causing harm, Co. Dublin, 2025-04-04 **TL;DR:** In the early hours of 4 April, shortly before 2.30am, two teenage twin sisters were approached by Shando Alfa, a 27-year-old Somali man of no fixed abode, on Dame Street in Dublin city centre, and rejected his advances. When a male passerby aged 32 intervened, Alfa brandished the head of a broken green glass bottle and attacked all three, leaving the sisters and the man with deep cuts needing stitches and staples. Alfa was arrested on Dame Street at about 3.20am, still carrying the broken bottle head, and was identified through CCTV footage. He was charged with three counts of assault causing harm, refused bail by Judge Ciaran Liddy at Dublin District Court, and later pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced him to four years and two months in prison, after imposing three years and nine months on each charge, making two consecutive for seven years and six months, then reducing the total for his guilty plea. **Stage:** Sentenced. Reported stages: In court (2026-04-01), Convicted (2026-05-26), Sentenced (2026-11-11) ## People - Victim: 3 people - Suspect: Shando Alfa, Somali man, 27 ## Key facts **What happened** - Shando Alfa, a 27-year-old Somali man, attacked teenage twin sisters and a 32-year-old male passerby with a broken glass bottle on Dame Street in Dublin after the sisters rejected his advances and a passerby intervened. - One twin was grabbed by the hair, pulled to the floor and punched in the face, suffering a deep laceration to her hand, while her sister was struck on the head and cut. - Alfa struck the male passerby with the piece of bottle and stabbed him in the head, then fled the scene. **Where** - The incident happened on Dame Street in Dublin city centre as the sisters attempted to cross the street. **When** - The attack happened shortly before 2.30am in the early hours of 4 April, with sources dating it to 4 April 2025 and 4 April 2026. **Cause** - The assault followed Alfa pestering the twin sisters and making unwanted advances which they rejected, and began when the man who intervened pushed him away. **Weapon** - Alfa brandished the head of a broken green glass bottle, and a broken Jameson whiskey bottle was recovered from the scene. **Other details** - One twin had two deep head lacerations needing staples and bruising under her eye, the second needed stitches and will need surgery, and the passerby needed stitches at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown where glass was removed from his wound. - Alfa had 20 previous District Court convictions including possession of weapons, handling stolen property and criminal damage, was on bail for several matters at the time, was homeless and intoxicated, and had left Somalia after an attack on him. **Investigation** - Gardaí reviewed CCTV footage before, during and after the incident and a camera phone recording with audio of the women pleading with the man, and identified Alfa, who was arrested at about 3.20am on Dame Street still carrying the head of the broken bottle. **Charges** - Shando Alfa was charged with three counts of assault causing harm to the two young women and the male passerby under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, which carries a maximum ten-year sentence. **In court** - Alfa was refused bail by Judge Ciaran Liddy at Dublin District Court, remanded in custody pending DPP directions, and appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill District Court, where he pleaded guilty and the DPP consented to him being sent forward for sentencing. - Alfa affirmed signed pleas of guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the case came before Judge Elma Sheahan for sentence. **Sentence** - Judge Elma Sheahan imposed three years and nine months on each charge, made two consecutive for a total of seven years and six months, then reduced the sentence to four years and two months in prison. ## Reports (13) | Date | Outlet | Report | |---|---|---| | 2026-04-01 | thejournal.ie | [Man charged after twin teenage girls and passer-by stabbed in Dublin city centre](https://www.thejournal.ie/court-hears-sisters-stabbed-on-dame-street-7004831-Apr2026/) | | 2026-04-06 | gript.ie | [Teen sisters allegedly stabbed after rejecting advances - Gript](https://gript.ie/teen-sisters-allegedly-stabbed-after-rejecting-advances/) | | 2026-04-06 | rte.ie | [Sisters stabbed after rejecting advances, court hears](https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2026/0406/1566922-dublin-district-court/) | | 2026-04-06 | irishtimes.com | [Man remanded in custody accused of stabbing twin teenage sisters and passerby in Dublin](https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2026/04/06/man-remanded-in-custody-accused-of-stabbing-twin-teenage-sisters-and-passerby-in-dublin/) | | 2026-04-06 | irishmirror.ie | [Twin sisters stabbed after rejecting man's advances in Dublin, court hears](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/twin-sisters-stabbed-broken-bottle-36975528) | | 2026-05-01 | thejournal.ie | [Man pleads guilty to attacking teenage twin sisters with glass bottle on Dublin's Dame Street](https://www.thejournal.ie/shando-alfa-attack-dame-street-twin-sisters-7052098-May2026/) | | 2026-05-26 | gript.ie | [DAME STREET ATTACK: Somali guilty of stabbing teen girls - Gript](https://gript.ie/dame-street-attack-somali-guilty-of-stabbing-teen-girls/) | | 2026-05-26 | irishtimes.com | [Man pleads guilty to stabbing teen sisters with broken bottle after rejecting his advances](https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2026/05/26/man-pleads-guilty-to-stabbing-teen-sisters-with-broken-bottle-after-rejecting-his-advances/) | | 2026-06-12 | gript.ie | [Sentence date set for Dame St. glass bottle attacker - Gript](https://gript.ie/sentence-date-set-for-dame-st-glass-bottle-attacker/) | | 2026-11-11 | gript.ie | [Man living in tent attacked twins with broken Jameson bottle - Gript](https://gript.ie/man-living-in-tent-attacked-twins-with-broken-jameson-bottle/) | | 2026-11-11 | rte.ie | [Man who attacked sisters with broken bottle jailed](https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2026/1111/1598867-man-jailed-after-sister-attack/) | | 2026-11-12 | irishmirror.ie | [Somalian attacked teen twin sisters with broken bottle after they rejected him](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/somalian-living-tent-attacked-teenage-37867588) | | 2026-11-12 | dublinlive.ie | [Somalian man living in tent who attacked teen twins with broken bottle jailed](https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/somalian-man-living-tent-who-34901764) | HTML: https://irelandcrime.com/case/man-sentenced-for-assault-causing-harm-after-dame-street-bottle-attack-2997 This page is put together automatically from the reports listed above. 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