Nothing stolen but our sense of security

Following the 'Fear on the Streets' series on these pages two weeks ago, ireland.com readers describe a litany of violent attacks throughout the country. Conor Pope compiles a sample, starting with his own experience of being kicked in the head by a gang of five while on his way home

Saturday night in Ranelagh and taxis are impossible to get. Numbers are dialled but either ring out or are answered by bored dispatchers who have "nothing in the area". It's probably faster to flag a cab on the hoof rather than grow old waiting for a booked one, so we start walking.

A left turn takes us past a "Nite Club", out of which plastered punters are spilling onto the street. A group of five men are on the footpath ahead of us so we move onto the road to overtake. One of them jostles me. I keep walking.

Suddenly he's in my face, screaming: "What did you say?" "What? Nothing. I said nothing." "You called me a c**t!" "No I didn't. I didn't call you anything." "You called me a f**king c**t and now you're calling me a f**king liar!" "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm not looking for any trouble, OK?"

Clearly not. First there's a head butt, weak and off-target, followed by a glancing blow to the side of my head. He's very drunk and has problems making his violence count.

His four friends rush to his aid. Knocked to the ground, I can hear my girlfriend screaming. But there's nothing I can do, only lie there with my arms protecting my head, counting the kicks. Each one results in near blinding pain and cartoon stars exploding in my skull. It lasts for about two minutes. Five men kicking me for two minutes and they never once aim for anywhere but my head.

I'm lucky, they get bored and move on, merging with the late night crowd. We cross the road. My girlfriend is hoarse and hysterical. I'm dazed and in shock and my arms are covered in bruises and blood. My head is slightly grazed but otherwise I'm unhurt.

We call the Garda and explain what happened and which direction the thugs are walking. A garda says there's little point in his taking details of the assault, as I wouldn't be able to identify the assailants and they'd probably be impossible to find. Even if they were found and I was able to identify them, they'd only be cautioned.

Sadly, it's not an unusual occurrence . . .

Readers' experiences

Heading over O'Connell Bridge at 5 p.m., I bumped into a young man. I continued walking until I was struck suddenly and sharply on the back of the head. As I fell I spotted the man I'd just bumped into with two accomplices as they drew their feet back to kick me again. I instinctively drew my shopping bag in front of my face and tried to curl into a ball. All the time I could see passers-by saunter past.

Eventually they left, and as I picked myself up a woman informed me that she had seen everything and that I should call the Garda. She then moved on, leaving me stunned and bloody.

Only then did it occur to that they might have been trying to rob me. So I inspected my shopping and to my horror noticed that my bag had been perfectly sliced open on one side and that my left hand was bleeding profusely. Maybe they hadn't been trying to rob me but rather just vent some spleen or impress their friends with some knife skills. I'll never know.

Mark, Germany

On a Friday night in September 2001, I was on Limerick's O'Connell Street with some friends when I saw a young woman on the ground being kicked by another woman and then by a man. I approached him and asked him to stop. The next thing I remember was waking up on the pavement with blood flowing from my eye. One of my friends saw a patrol car a short distance away and asked them for a lift to hospital. The garda suggested we get a taxi instead, which we did. The following day I visited my local Garda station and was informed that I would have to report the incident to the Henry Street station. I was unable to drive so I phoned them and was told that I would need to come in and file a report. I decided that the police didn't want the hassle of the paperwork and gave up.

Kevin, Limerick City

I was assaulted in Tralee while a student there. I had just handed in my final year's project and went for a drink with my girlfriend. On our way home, two men came towards us. As one of them passed, I felt an enormous pain in my head. He had just wheeled around his fist as he walked by and hit me in the face. I was knocked against the steps of the court house.

My girlfriend was distressed and the two men just looked at me and walked off. The next day, I went to the police station to inquire if the incident had been recorded on the CCTV. I was told by the duty Garda that no one was looking at the cameras and that the one near me had been pointing at the ground.

Damien, Dublin

I was with of a group of friends after being at a club on O'Connell St when a tall guy passed me and tapped my boyfriend on the shoulder, he turned around thinking it was me and the guy punched him in the eye. He collapsed on the ground and the guy sauntered off. I screamed and went to help my boyfriend. I half carried him across the road, he couldn't see, the top of his nose was pumping blood where I found my friends - each of them had been attacked in the same manner.

Laura, Dublin

I walked out of a bar on Fleet Street with a friend of mine, heading into Temple Bar. A group of teens appeared and proceeded to hurl abuse at us. When we passed, one of them kicked me martial-art style in the back between the shoulders. I turned to face them and one particular female flew at me punching and kicking wildly. My friend then tried to reason with them and they attacked him. We both pulled away and proceeded through Temple Bar where we came upon a Garda van. I explained what had happened and he said he'd keep an eye out! I've been attacked on the street twice since then. As a result I never go into town at night, and rarely by day.

Thomas, Dublin

About six months ago, my girlfriend and I were attacked at a fast food restaurant in O'Connell Street. Three men just attacked us for no reason. I got one of my teeth knocked out. The bouncers threw us all out onto the street where the attackers proceeded with their assault. None of the bouncers came to our aid although they were only a few yards away. There was no sign of the gardaí until 10 minutes later. Because of this attack, I don't feel safe in Dublin and will probably move out of this city soon.

Eoin, Dublin

I was on my way home alone, having been separated from my friends in a nightclub, when two youths approached me on the quays. They asked me for spare change and when I told them that I had spent all my money in the club they took offence and threw me over the wall into the Liffey. I was after a few drinks and it took a few seconds for me to realise what had happened. Thankfully I am a strong swimmer and I managed to get to the edge and grab hold of one of the ladders and haul myself up.

Mike, Dublin

Strolling home peaceably in Cork at about 12.30 a.m. with a mixed group of friends, we were suddenly set upon by eight young men who punched and kicked everyone until we were all on the ground bleeding. They had the grace not to touch the girl who was with us, but left one person permanently deaf in one ear, another with several stitches to the head and another who was psychologically damaged. The youths when finished ran off having stolen nothing but our sense of security.

Ronan, Dublin

Two years ago, myself and two friends were walking home from a friend's flat in Limerick at 3.30 a.m. on a Sunday. We were passing a city-centre pub when a car approached and swerved ridiculously close to one of my friends. The side of the car hit him and four people in theirlate twenties got out of the car armed with hurleys. We were chased for about 50 metres while I received blows to my head and legs. Fortunately we outran them but the blood was pouring from the crown of my head - I received 12 staples in the emergency ward, and my right leg was badly damaged. The next day I went to the Garda in Henry Street where they told me they'd check the cameras in the area. I don't know if anything was ever done about it but I was never contacted again.

R., Limerick

Victims of random violence in Ireland can share their experiences by visiting the Fear on the Streets site which is still available at www.ireland.com/focus/streetcrime/

Conor Pope is Deputy Editor of ireland.com