Glasses may hold clue to woman's attacker

Gardaí believe an optician may be able to provide vital information which could lead them to a man who attacked a young woman in the early hours of St Valentine's morning in south Dublin.

The attacker left a pair of rare designer glasses at the scene which detectives believe may be the key to unlocking the case.

The victim, in her early 20s and originally from the midlands, was returning from a night out with friends between 3 a.m. and 3.30 a.m. when she was attacked. She had travelled by bus from Dublin city centre to Stillorgan. When she got off the bus she began walking towards her home nearby. She got as far as the Tesco overflow car park on Lower Kilmacud Road when she realised she was being followed.

She was grabbed from behind by her attacker and was badly beaten by the man, who used an iron bar to inflict serious head injuries. The woman struggled to her feet, fought the man off and even managed to disarm him.

When the attack started the woman had been on her mobile phone talking to a male friend. He realised what was happening and immediately alerted gardaí. A squad car attached to Blackrock Garda station was on the scene almost immediately but the man had already fled.

The attacker left his glasses and the weapon at the scene. Supt Liam McCahey said the glasses are the Milki brand. "We are working on the basis that they are his because we found blood on them. From the lenses we can tell that the man would be very short sighted. He may have had work carried out on them recently or may have needed them replaced after the St Valentine's weekend. We're appealing to any opticians who may have done this work to contact us".

The weapon used was 16 inches in length made of box metal.