A 50-year-old Mayor’s Walk resident has been left bruised and shaken following an assault on Patrick Street on Tuesday evening last. Speaking to The Munster Express, the victim’s sister said he is slowly recovering after being set upon by two youths, believed to be in their mid to late teens, although he didn’t venture outside his apartment whatsoever on Sunday last.
“He’s doing as well as he can,” his sister (who requested that her name not to be used) said when speaking about the incident which occurred at 7.20pm approximately on Tuesday last. “But he’s very nervous after it. He’s five foot two, he’s living on his own, his eyesight isn’t the best, he’s had a couple of strokes too over the last couple of years and his balance isn’t great. He’s an easy target.”
The victim, who suffered a cut to his temple and sustained a black eye, was “punched, headlocked and then thrown to the ground”. The victim’s sister added: “These two boys were cycling up the footpath on Patrick Street, side by side, opposite the cinema and they were taking up the whole footpath – and it’s not a wide footpath either. They came on him suddenly, he got a fright, so he jumped out of the way and said to the boys: ‘Jesus, lads, why don’t ye just use the road’? The older of the two, who might be as old as 18, turned around and said: ‘say that again’. So my brother said: ‘You should be on the road; the footpath is for pedestrians. The lad got off his bike, punched my brother, grabbed him and flung him onto the ground.
The Mayor’s Walk/Barrack Street area is home to many people aged 50 and over, many of whom live on their own. Neighbours of the victim have been left shaken by Tuesday’s attack, which Gardaí, from literally over the road in Ballybricken, continue to investigate.
“He’s not the kind of man who’d fight back when something like this happens,” said his sister. “He hasn’t a chance to defend himself anyway given his frame – he’s just not the type – and nobody deserves to get a clatter, unless you’re a complete scumbag. But these lads, the fellas that did this, and I see a lot of fellas just like them down in the People’s Park on a regular basis, they think they’re invincible and they don’t care about how they act impacts on vulnerable people. Where my brother lives is a very quiet part of town; there are lots of people who’ve spent most of their lives in that part of the city and there’s a nice sense of community along those streets up there. And while he was reluctant to go to the Guards and make a statement, maybe making that statement and helping in finding out who these two were will prevent them from doing this to someone else.”
The attackers were cycling BMX-type bikes, and Gardaí continue to search CCTV coverage of the city centre “to see if they can spot these lads hanging around, looking for trouble”.
According to a man who assisted her brother at the scene after both teens fled, the boys at the time were wearing grey hoodies. “The man who helped my brother at the scene was walking up Patrick Street just after it happened and he was a great help to my brother. The staff at Momo would know my brother well but none of them saw what happened at the time but they’ve always been very good to him; he’d be a regular there and he went down to Camilla (the restaurant owner) to thank for coming over the street to him after he was attacked. He’s slowly on the mend, doing his best to get on with things, but you just don’t expect things like this to happen. And the fact that the Garda Station is only up the road from where this happened clearly doesn’t bother these lads at all. They just don’t give a sh*te about anyone or anything as far as I’m concerned.”
* This newspaper also learned of a similar incident involving two youths, also on bicycles, who “jumped” a man near the An Post Sorting Office at Carrickphierish over the weekend. The man was shaken but thankfully uninjured following the incident. Whether these incidents are connected or not has yet to be established.
"Easy Target" Attacked by Teenagers