Gardaí have examined a video that appears to show a man in a Dublin GAA jersey kicking a crouched man in the head in Dublin city centre and have appealed for witnesses.
An alleged assault on Sunday was captured on video and posted on social media. The recording shows a man in a blue Dublin GAA shirt, shorts and sneakers in an agitated state shouting at a man sitting crouched on the footpath, in a pose adopted by many homeless people in the city.
The attacker rises on his toes, facing off against others also wearing Dublin GAA shirts before pausing to pick up a piece of clothing from the street, and, still shouting, lashes out with his left foot and kicks the crouched man in the face.
The man is then restrained by two other men before they move along the street and out of shot.
The footage was posted at about 10pm on Sunday night and contains sounds which may help gardaí identify those involved.
The video was accompanied by the words: “Had a great day working in crocker (sic) . . . Dublin taking home the Sam four times in a row . . . Only to be walking home and see this on our streets #terrible #horrible.”
Speaking to The Irish Times on the basis that his name would not be used, the man who made the video said he came upon the scene at 6.30pm on Sunday, as crowds were dispersing from Croke Park where the Dublin v Tyrone All-Ireland football final had just concluded in a win for Dublin.
He said he saw the crouched man receive “a few kicks” and only the end of the altercation was caught on video.
The attack took place beside the Parnell Street Luas stop, on Parnell Street, east of the junction with O’Connell Street. There are a number of CCTV cameras near the scene of the attack.
A spokesman for the Metro bar, which is near the scene, said he was unaware of the incident until a customer showed him the video on Monday morning. He said the customer claimed the incident happened on Sunday evening between 6pm and 8pm.
Officially, the Garda said they would not comment on individual cases or instances of individual video and any witnesses should contact their local Garda station.
Garda sources said, however, that extensive checks had shown no complaint had been filed at any of the city centre Garda stations and as such, while the material was examined, an invesigation was not launched.
Garda sources also indicated there was a growing tendency to put dramatic videos online without approaching gardaí.
