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ONE OF THE victims of an attack on tourists in Temple Bar last night has described the moment he and three other English men were assaulted.
The man, who does not wish to be named as he fears for his safety, said that it is his first time in Dublin and he was on a weekend break.
He said at least one of the attackers was carrying a knife in the terrifying assault.
The incident happened shortly after 10pm on Friday night. While three of the injured men were taken to hospital a fourth tourist did not require medical treatment.
The victim of the assault, who is from the south west of England, said he had been visiting pubs with three other English men.
The group were moving to another pub in Temple Bar when they were walking on Fownes Street Upper which is located behind the former Central Bank building.
The man described the moment of the attack: “We were walking to another bar in Temple Bar and we came to a corner.
“There was a guy sitting on a chair and as we came close to him he asked did we want to buy drugs – I said we didn’t and kept walking.
“Suddenly guys came up from behind and attacked us – the four of us were attacked.
“They hit me straight in the head, really hard. I fell to the ground but I landed in a way that I could get up and sprint away and I ran as fast as I could down the street and into an ice cream shop.
“I just sat in there and then the police came – there was a detective who helped me and he was amazing, I couldn’t speak highly enough of him,” he said.
The man said that he was followed by the attackers as he ran and took shelter inside the shop.
The gardaí were called and he spoke to detectives from Pearse Street Garda Station – he was then taken to St James Hospital for treatment.
“The paramedics said to me that he thought I had suffered a broken eye socket when he saw my eye – but I’m lucky, the x-rays this morning showed that it is okay, I’m hurt and I just have an injured eye,” he added.
In the hospital the man said he met the other victims of the attack, who had also arrived by ambulance.
He said that at least one of the group had his phone and wallet taken in the incident.
While they have been treated for their injuries it is understood two of the men suffered broken noses.
After reading this morning’s article in The Journal he decided to ring Helen McEntee’s office in the Department of Justice today.
He also paid tribute to the people who helped him and the other victims of the attack.
“It is just frightening. But people were amazing to me, everyone was totally sound, the people in the ice cream shop, the police, the people in the hospital, everyone was.
“They said to me it happens regularly here [in Dublin] that it is most nights – the doctor said that these incidents happen a few times a week.
“I spoke to some people here and they said to call Helen McEntee, I left a message at her office. She should phone me back,” he said.
Gardaí in Pearse Street are investigating the incident and have appealed for witnesses to make contact with them.
The man said he has given a statement to gardaí about the incident and will take part in any court proceedings that follow.
It comes just two weeks after an attack on American tourist Stephen Termini and a number of other tourists in unprovoked assaults across Dublin city.
A number of young men have appeared in court for attacks on tourists – the Government announced an injection of €10m to fund increased garda patrols in the city centre.
A spokesperson for Helen McEntee said that the Government were working with gardaí to solve the issue of street violence.
“The Commissioner has outlined his operational plans to increase Garda visibility, involving both covert and overt, proactive and reactive policing operations.
“Proactive policing responses will involve further targeted intelligence led operations (including surveillance), searches of people and locations, and increased focus on the congregation of large groups of people who can be perceived as engaging in anti-social behaviour will be undertaken,” the spokesperson said.
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