The Bangladeshi father of a 13 year-old boy allegedly attacked in Co Galway last month says his “heart is broken” as he fears “Ireland is less friendly” than when he arrived almost 20 years ago.
The father of two, who co-owns a restaurant in Tuam and drives a taxi, did not want to be named, to protect his family’s privacy.
His wife and he did not find out about the incident, which was filmed and widely shared on social media, until contacted by friends. His son had feared telling them, he says.
Gardaí confirmed they are investigating an alleged attack by two youths on the boy on or near Shop Street in the town on October 16th.
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“I was 100 per cent upset and angry,” the father said. “Me and my wife totally shocked. We are two, three weeks we cannot sleep. The whole family is upset,” the father told The Irish Times.
Asked whether his family had experienced abuse before, he said occasionally people refuse to pay their taxi fare using racial slurs. “Sometimes they are rude. Some say: ‘Paki bastard. Go home.’ They are talking and they run away.”
There had never been violence, however. “No, no, no, no violence. It is a very big shock.
“I always tell Bangladeshi living in Europe: ‘Ireland is like heaven, Ireland is nice country, safe county, peaceful country.’ I am proud to tell them I live in Ireland, but now recently I find it more difficult.”
Of sadness to him is that his son is Irish-born and yet was subject to an alleged assault.
“Now I worry Ireland is less friendly. To be honest my heart us broken. I feel so sad. We came from poor country and came here to work. Irish people [are] migrants too. I am working and we not do anything wrong.”
His concerns are echoed among others in the estimated 25,000-strong Bangladeshi community, particularly for their Irish-born children.
Dr Arman Rahman, assistant professor of anatomy at UCD, who has been in Ireland since 2008, and restaurateur Mohammed Mostofa, in Ireland since 1989, worry now every time their children go out.
An alleged assault on an Irish-born Trinity College student in Dublin city centre last week “shook every member of the community”, they said.
A Garda spokesman confirmed investigations were under way into “an alleged assault that occurred on Pearse Street in Dublin 2 at approximately 3.00pm on Friday, 14th November 2025.
“A male in his late teens received treatment for non-life-threatening injury,” he said.
Ireland had always felt welcoming, said Dr Rahman, but things “drastically changed” in recent months. “There is aggression in the air. The increase of the far right for me to witness, that it is very painful.
“This is home. My daughter is 18 and going to Maynooth University. For the last two months every time she goes to university my heart is beating fast. I am checking, ‘Is she on the bus?’. ‘Has the bus arrived okay?’. ‘Has she come home?’
Mr Mostafa said his university-age daughter is “watching all around” if out alone. “We don’t want them to grow on that fear. It is not right.”
The two brought their concerns to Minister of State at the Department of Justice Niall Collins earlier this week.
A Garda spokesman said the force was “aware of and investigating a number of incidents in which members of Ireland’s Indian and south Asian community have been injured parties.
“Each of these individual incidents is being fully and thoroughly investigated, and An Garda Síochána is liaising with the injured parties in each case.
“Without commenting on any specific incident, the Garda national diversity unit is actively engaged with the Federation of Indian Communities in Ireland (FICI) – the umbrella group for several Indian community groups across the country – to address present concerns.
“Gardaí have also provided safety advice talks to members of the south Asian community in Dublin at a number of community events,” he said.
