US CITIZENS IN Ireland have been issued a warning about personal safety while travelling in the country following a recent spate of violent incidents in Dublin. 

The US Embassy in Ireland issued the warning after a US tourist was last week assaulted in Dublin’s Talbot Street area. 

In its warning, the US Embassy says all citizens should “be aware of their surroundings, especially when travelling in unfamiliar places, crowded locations, empty street, or at night”. 

“Travellers should safeguard valuables, such as credit cards and passports, and refrain from carrying large amounts of cash,” it says. 

US citizens are being warned to “keep a low profile”. 

The warning urges US citizens to be aware of their environment and avoid walking alone, especially during hours of darkness.

They are also being told not to wear or display expensive jewelry or watches and to avoid placing passports, cash, phones or other valuables in the outer pockets of backpacks or purses. 

The Embassy is warning US citizens that “pickpocketing, mugging and ‘snatch and grab’ thefts of mobile phones, watches and jewelry can occur”. 

The warning outlines that most reported thefts happen at crowded tourist sites, at airports, car rental agencies, on public buses, trams and trains, and at the major railway stations. 

The Embassy further warns citizens to avoid staring at their phones while walking in public areas and to limit earbud and headphone use when in public. 

Attacks

The US tourist who was attacked in the Talbot Street area has been identified by his family as Stephen Termini.

Separately, a man was seriously injured after being assaulted at Jervis Street in Dublin on Monday night. 

A woman was also hospitalised after being assaulted on Price’s Lane in Temple Bar shortly before midday on Monday afternoon. 

Last month, a Ukrainian actor was also hospitalised after being glassed and bitten during an unprovoked assault in Dublin city centre.

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday said people are being “attacked all the time” on Irish streets as he acknowledged it will be “very hard” to meet the target of recruiting 1,000 gardaí this year.

He also said that telling people to avoid certain areas in Dublin or calling certain streets dangerous “is the wrong approach” to take. 

The Taoiseach said Irish people are attacked on the streets of the capital every day, but when there is an attack on a visitor to Ireland it often garners more attention. 

“Sometimes when it’s somebody from overseas, it gets more coverage than when its an Irish person, but there sadly are Irish people resident in this country being attacked all the time on our streets, and that’s not something that we can accept,” he said. 

Relative to many other countries in the world, “Ireland is a safe place’, Varadkar maintained. 

The Taoiseach said he is meeting with the Garda Commissioner and Justice Minister Helen McEntee next week to discuss measures to tackle crime. 

With reporting by Christina Finn