New York GAA star Alisha Jordan - who was viciously assaulted walking home from a night out in the Woodlawn area of the Bronx in 2012 - has told her attacker: "my scars are proof that I have beaten what tried to hurt me".

The Irish Independent reports that Jordan from Skryne, Co Meath read out a victim impact statement ahead of her assailant's sentencing yesterday.

She has had 10 metal plates inserted in her face and serval reconstructive operations after sustaining cheekbones, a broken nose, fractures to both orbital bones, an almost full set of smashed teeth and nerve damage that resulted in her losing her sight for two weeks.

"I was hit in the face with a slab of concrete, all for no reason at all," Ms Jordan said.

Her mental state was "worrying" following the attack, she told the court, and she couldn't look in the mirror for months and suffered nightmares and panic attacks.

Through the support of family and friends, she said that she slowly regained her confidence.

"My scars are proof that I have beaten what tried to hurt me," she said.

In hospital, she received counselling to help her cope with the emotional trauma and the psychological fallout.

Despite being told that she would never play again, she returned to the New York team for the All-Ireland Ladies' Junior Football Championship and lined out against Wexford in the All-Ireland Junior final in Croke Park this year.

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