It was the night of January 16, 2000, and James O'Sullivan -- working a solo shift at a filling station just outside Waterford -- was getting ready to close up.

He didn't see the two men hiding in a dark corner of the forecourt until it was too late. Wearing balaclavas and brandishing a handgun, they made the young Tramore man empty the till.

But they were not content with the night's takings and refused to accept his truthful pleadings that there was no further cash on the premises.

It was then that James's ordeal began in earnest. The pair forced him to drive his own car to a remote wooded area. The gun was cocked and held against his neck the whole time.

When they got him there, they attempted to extract information about the non-existent extra money at the forecourt. Discovering his golf clubs in the bag, they beat him. The blows were so severe that his leg was broken and the clubs were bent from the impact. He also sustained very severe facial injuries.

"There were moments during the whole thing when I wished I was dead," James says. "And there were moments where I thought it was certain that I would die. Words can't describe how terrified I was -- you never expect to be in a situation like that and when you find yourself in it, all you can think about is survival."

He was very fortunate to survive. Not only was he badly injured, but he was also tied up and locked in the boot of his speeding car for hours. His attackers -- high on drugs and adrenaline -- crashed the car a number of times as they panicked about what to do with their captive. And it was the bashed-up car that alerted a passing squad car.

"Who knows what would have happened to me if the guards hadn't been there at the time," he says.

"They had to prise open the boot because it was so badly damaged and they probably got the fright of their lives when they saw me.

"I'm told I was covered with blood and my face was unrecognisable. The bruise over one of my eyes was so bad that I couldn't see on that side."

James (32) now divides his time between the incongruous activities of working as a farm supplies sales rep and as a singer-songwriter.

His trauma -- which made national headlines at the time -- and his subsequent spiritual enlightenment has proved to be potent material for his debut album, This Is Joy. A classically trained pianist, the album is likely to strike a chord with many, especially those who enjoy the spiritual music of the likes of Josh Groban.

"It's a cliche to say that channelling your feeling into songs or some other art form is cathartic, but it's actually true," he says.

'But it took me a long time to reach the point where I could write songs about how it's affected me, how it's helped me look at life in a different way -- in a positive way."

The road to recovery was a tortuous one.

James spent two weeks in intensive care in hospital and it took almost four months for the worst of his injuries to clear up. But the mental scars didn't heal as quickly.

"I was paranoid for years," he says.

"I wouldn't want to be alone or in the dark or in a small space. I kept getting flashbacks of that night -- I was re-living it all in my head. I'd wake up with nightmares every night for months. I didn't actually try to kill myself, but I was suicidal for a long time. My world had collapsed -- I was afraid of trusting anyone."

James had been living a carefree existence prior to the attack. "I was a bit of a jack-the-lad. I lived for weekends, for drinking with the lads. I suppose I didn't really appreciate life -- you take it for granted."

His healing process started when he became fully aware of how lucky he was to be alive.

"There are only two ways you can go when you go through a trauma like I did -- you can either go under completely, or you can decide that life is wonderful."

With the help of a series of self-help books -- most notably Susan Jeffers' Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway -- and much study of a wide variety of religions, James started to make sense of the world.

"I wasn't particularly spiritual before the attack happened, but without having a positive outlook on life today, I don't know where I'd be. Friends and family helped me hugely, but I had to help myself most of all."

James pays special tribute to a friend of his, Ross Kearley, a local musician who encouraged him to channel his new-found positivity into music.

"I wouldn't have made this album without Ross," he says.

"Everybody needs somebody to believe in them, and he believed in my music. He believed that I had songs in me that were worth bringing out. This Is Joy is a testament to him and many more of my friends who also contributed to the songs."

The album cover features angel-like figures -- no doubt a reference to one of the most striking songs, Angels are Smiling -- as well as a photo of his smiling five-year-old son, Tommy.

"Tommy is my world," James says, of the child he had with an ex girlfriend. The former couple are still friends, and one of the songs on his album was inspired by her help in difficult times.

"He makes life so sweet for me. I look at him today and think that he wouldn't be here today if I hadn't survived that night, nearly nine years ago. When you have a child, it adds so much colour to your world."

James Sullivan -- he drops the O' for his stage name -- says his strong spiritual awareness may flummox some. "These are materialistic times," he says, "and a lot of people have no interest in the spiritual world. I'm not a preacher and I'm not trying to ram my views down people's throats.

"I look at the world differently than I used to and being more aware of the spiritual elements of lots of different religions has helped me greatly. Now, even the smallest things mean so much to me, even a casual hug."

The men who almost killed him received lengthy jail terms. Remarkably, he bears no malice towards them.

"I don't hate them," he says. "I don't want vengeance. I had thoughts about retribution before, but that's the sort of thing that can consume you and crush you. I bear them no ill will now. I believe that everyone is capable of good, although some veer off the path.

"Obviously, I wish that that dark episode of my life never happened. But if it hadn't, I wouldn't appreciate life as much as I do now -- I'm certain of that. I've become so much wiser as a result -- I don't take life for granted.

"Every day is special and I'm happy just to be here."

James Sullivan's album This Is Joy is available from his website www.jamessullivanmusic.com