TV PRESENTER AND fashion designer Brendan Courtney has said he is “not going to change” who he is after he was assaulted last night in an attack he described as homophobic incident.  

Courtney recounted the incident on RTÉ’s Liveline and noted that he had been assaulted in a homophobic attack in 2015.

He said he was walking home at around 9pm at the junction of Ushers Street and Queen Street when a passenger in a car shouted something at him from a window.

“Next of all from behind, the driver and the guy in the back jumped out and kicked me to the ground and punched and kicked me in the head five or six times.”

Three people got out of the car and Courtney said it felt like “they were out for the hunt and to lash someone out of it”.

“I think they recognised me and I think that was perfect fodder,” he added.

He said he was “completely shaken” and that the manager of a nearby bar saw the incident and came out to offer assistance.

Courtney said he thinks was targeted because of who he is and that he was “just walking around and minding my own business” when it happened.

He said he felt a “boot to the side and back of my head and to my face” while he was on the ground and that his head is “pumping” today as a result.

Courtney said he’s lived there for 15 years and knows the area well and is cautious when he is out, but added that you “can’t legislate for three people pulling up in a car”.

He was speaking to Liveline while awaiting the results of a CT scan for his injuries.

Courney said that when he got up this morning following the assault, “his head was pounding and his face was sore”.

The guards were on the scene within minutes, said Courtney.

He said at least two of the three men had assaulted him.

Courtney added that last night’s incident felt like a homophobic attack and that in any case, “nothing justifies an attack like that unwarranted”.

Courtney said he was speaking on the incident because “it’s so important to remind people that this still happens and to be vigilant” and added that he felt like he was a “target” for the group.

He said the bystanders at the scene and the gardaí were “so helpful” and that an American woman risked her safety to try to help.

While Courtney said the Irish public is very tolerant, he cautioned that he has seen an increase in “anti-gay rhetoric”.

“We’re all tired of this nonsense,” said Courtney.

“I am stronger and bolder than ever, but it’s not great.

“I’m not going to change, this is not going to change me,” said Courtney,

“I’m not going to walk around afraid.”

He added: “We’re Irish – there’s no such thing as celebrities in Ireland – there’s a couple of well-known faces so you can’t live like you’re beyond a normal life and I refuse to ever think like that.

“I don’t want to be overprotective about who I am, I will continue to walk around the street at night, safely, myself.”

Courtney also appealed to the public to attend a Pride event if there is one near them.

“It means the world and it’s never more important than this year.”