Councillor attacked by man who said he "smirked" at him

A FINE GAEL county councillor has told how he was assaulted during an attempted mugging in Dublin over the weekend.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Liveline today, Noel Rock told how he had been walking opposite the capital’s Gate Theatre at 1.30am on Saturday when a man assaulted him from behind, punching him in the side of the head.

Rock said that he had been walking alone, looking for a taxi when the assault happened.

“Before I knew what had happened, I had gotten a punch in the jaw.

“I was walking along, keeping myself to myself as I always do and got a blow to the side of the head.

I turned around and asked him what he was thinking and he accused me of smirking at him.

Rock, a councillor for the Glasnevin and Drumcondra ward, says that they man then lunged for his laptop bag, but he was able to flag a taxi whose driver stopped and dropped him “away from the danger”.

He said that gardaí have told him that punches from behind are a common method of muggings.

Rock said that he was left with bruising and swelling around his jaw and doctors have advised he undergo a CT scan when the swelling goes down.

Despite getting away without being robbed, Rock said that there wasn’t much in the bag anyway.

“It just had election leaflets and a notebook in it.”

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