Attacked on Parnell Street in broad daylight

bermuda

Just wanted to share a really scary story.....

My wife and myself were walking down Parnell Street last evening and suddenly a man walked upto my wife and punched her in the face. This was around 7 50 pm last evening right in front of the what used to be the old video store and now is a asian superstore.

According to other people on the street apparently this man was getting beat up next to / in Penny's by a couple of men, he walked away from that fight and simply walked down the street, right upto my wife and punched her in the face.

He simply stood there over her after she fell to the ground, completely comatose and then simply calmly walked on.

I was in complete shock, everything seemed to be in slow motion, I can still see my wife hitting the ground and I seemed to be watching her from outside my body.

As he moved i ran after him as people collected around my wife and grabbed him by the collar, he simply turned again in a completely comatose fashion and stared at me and then simply kept on walking. I raced back to my wife , held her, tried to let her let me see her face to see how badly she was hurt.

I didnt have my cell on me, yelled at someone in the crowd to give me a cell phone, someone called the garda whilst I got up and raced down the street after the guy. All the while no one interfered or tried to stop him.

He had turned into the street behind Ilac centre. I yelled at him to stop and asked someone on the street for a cell phone to call the garda again.

I kept running up to catch up with him, whilst I heard running steps behind me, the garda had arrived and raced ahead to catch him. There were a couple of asian boys with them who had raced with them since they had witnessed the whole thing.

The garda caught the man, he simply still remained comatose and gave himself up without saying a word.

Went back to to my wife, she was now standing up against the door of the store, the garda took our statements and sent us to Mater for her checkup.

She has a nasty bruise, right check is all swollen up, but not injury to her teeth, nose or eye. Had xrays done this morning. Thank God!

I am still in shock that something like that would happen.....completely unprovoked........I think my wife is going to be very scared to venture out after this and I am not sure how to reassure her...am trying , but realise it will take some days.

I know the attack wasnt racist ( am asian and so is my wife). It was just random , unprovoked and makes me really sad and horrified.

I intend to prosecute the man to the fullest extent of the law - not sure what that would constitute.

hunter164

Why didn't you drop him?

CrazyTalk

I'm sorry to hear about this.

I hope your wife is okay and that they nail that prick to the wall.

Voodu Child

That's terrible OP, I hope your wife is OK and recovers from the bruising etc.

Sounds like the guy was out of his head. Giving him a beating would have accomplished nothing.

mikemac

Sorry to hear of your trouble.

It's random, Parnell St (Dublin) on weekend evening equals trouble. Could have happened to anyone

By comatose do you mean he was drugged, like a junkie maybe?
Fair play to the gardaí!

If you are new in Ireland then I may as well tell you he maybe will get off wih little more than a slap on the wrist to use a cliche. Don't expect a hefty punishment.
Giving him a beating would see you in court tbh

Ruu_Old

Hope you get some justice and that your wife recovers. Probably off his head.

allabouteve

I'm so sorry this happened to you and your wife OP, I hope she recovers fully and that you both see justice done. Take care of each other and tell your wife people wish the best for her.

Tails142

That is sad to hear, there are some nut jobs out there.

Used to go to college on bolton street, whole of parnell street is a bit dodgy, you should stick to nicer areas.

I wouldnt bother going out of my way to get this guy convicted either, obviously try and pursue it but I'm sure you'll find it frustrating and it will just prolong the two of you moving past it.

Will be tough for your wife to get over it and get the confidence back, maybe take her out to a nice restaurant some evening (on the southside )

D_murph

micmclo wrote: »

Giving him a beating would see you in court tbh

thats the unfortunate truth :mad: but id still find it very hard to stop myself all the same :mad::mad:

Guy:Incognito

Theres very little chance of ending up in court for giving him a hiding. Even the most hard nosed of Gards would put that down to defending your wife. Plenty of people get hurt while being restrained.

Dennis the Stone

It's great that they have got him, it would be even more upsetting if he had got away

magick

given our Justice system he will probably get an hour in jail

hunter164

That's why I said he should have dropped him.Kicked the **** out of him big time.

DonJose

What a scumbag, glad your wife isnt seriously hurt, please keep us up to date.

seahorse

I'm sorry to hear that bermuda. That is horrible. There is nothing worse than watching someone you love being attacked; I've had the experience myself.

Please assure your wife that most Irish people would be disgusted if they had witnessed what happened to her. Maybe you'd consider showing her this thread? If she reads that Irish people generally are appalled by this it might go some way towards helping her feel more comfortable with going out and about in their company.

Take care.

chopperbyrne

bermuda wrote: »

According to other people on the street apparently this man was getting beat up next to / in Penny's by a couple of men, he walked away from that fight and simply walked down the street, right upto my wife and punched her in the face.

Please don't take this the wrong way as I certainly wouldn't defend or condone the actions of this man, but if the above happened he could very well have been concussed and simply wasn't aware of what he was doing.

I wouldn't be surprised if he has no memory of it at all.

I was knocked out a few months back and didn't just lose a few minutes memory, I lost about five hours worth and I can tell you that the hospital staff and other patients were apparently very annoyed with some of my actions (although none as extreme as attacking someone).

SantryRed

The guards don't scare these guys. What them scumbags need is a good beating.

Diairist

Frankly I'm gobsmacked there were gardai nearby, even more gobsmacked they pursued the man. Hope Mrs. is back home by now. Get an MRI?

If the man was fighting anywhere near O'connell street the gardai should have this on film in living colour. This makes you (OP) a minor witness and it really helps that you did NOT wallop him. Film is evidence in gardai's hands and should (*crosses fingers*) carry weight with the judge when sentencing. Hope the gardai don't get fired now!

I now prescribe a double brandy...

Starryeyd

Thats awful what happened to your wife. I don't think two wrongs make a right though and though the irish court system is sh1te it is the better option than throwing punches. If it makes any more sense the irish mental health and social service system is a joke (despite the good work of those within the system), lack of time, effort and funding by the government mean and a lot of troubled people fall through the net. I know it's hard to feel something for some strung out junkie taking swings at innocent people, but these people have a back story. I'm not in any way saying it makes it right, or that it is going to make anything easier for your poor wife who is the victim, but it just go's to show the way things are in the emerald isle. I saw something similar happen last year and only me and one other guy on a busy street stopped to try help. I've also seen people walk around a junkie who was bleeding profusly outside Vicar street and walk on as if it was a piece of dog ****...Coming from a family with mental health problems, part of me sees how people end up this way when it's greatly ignored by those in power. Again, I really hope you and your wife recover from that awful experience

Theresalwaysone

Loopers everywhere, something similar yet much mroe tragic happened in Naas a year or two ago. Woman out drinking with her husband on a regular night (could have been Punchestown friday, big horse racing weekend) and an abolsute scumbag was kicked out of a pub, walked over and stabbed the woman in the neck. Tragically the woman died, it was very sad. Completely unprovoked as far as I recall.

Op, hope your wife is ok.

humbert

There are plenty of animals like that knocking around inner city dublin, particularly the inner city north side. They have been getting into fights, getting into trouble with the guards their entire life and have faced no consequence that has really scared them.

I believe that if we want to have a civilized society then when dealing with such uncivilized people we have to be prepared to resort to uncivilized methods. By the time these people are adults they are well passed the rubicon for any hope of rehabilitation.

GLaDOS

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Please don't take this the wrong way as I certainly wouldn't defend or condone the actions of this man, but if the above happened he could very well have been concussed and simply wasn't aware of what he was doing.

I wouldn't be surprised if he has no memory of it at all.

I was knocked out a few months back and didn't just lose a few minutes memory, I lost about five hours worth and I can tell you that the hospital staff and other patients were apparently very annoyed with some of my actions (although none as extreme as attacking someone).

Only person who seems to have noticed this. Obviously it's horrible what happen to your wife and she has my full sympathy, but I wish people would think for two seconds before calling the guy a scumbag. He clearly wasn't right in the head and it's very possible a head injury could have something to do with it

BigglesMcGee

Wow, sorry to hear that. Hope shes ok.

I can guess what will happen to this guy.

Solicitor : Your honour my client was high in drink and drugs and got a few slaps. He has 8 children by 5 mothers and they really need him this christmas. Also he agrees to go on a methodone course where he gets free drugs.

Judge : Fine. Probation.

Jigsaw

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Only person who seems to have noticed this. Obviously it's horrible what happen to your wife and she has my full sympathy, but I wish people would think for two seconds before calling the guy a scumbag. He clearly wasn't right in the head and it's very possible a head injury could have something to do with it

Lot of auld sh1te. He should have been beaten without mercy until he was slabbering spit and blood on the pavement and spasming. A few stampings perhaps. There is too much gheyness going on here. If someone lamps your wife, the guy should be supremely owned, just f**king ruined about the face.

Gavin "shels"

Jaysis sounds how bad this country has come to in two senses:

1) Someone actually didn't grab the man for you instead of you having to leave your wife.

2) The fact someone would actually do such a thing to a female.

MagicMarker

bermuda wrote: »

Just wanted to share a really scary story.....

My wife and myself were walking down Parnell Street last evening and suddenly a man walked upto my wife and punched her in the face. This was around 7 50 pm last evening right in front of the what used to be the old video store and now is a asian superstore.

According to other people on the street apparently this man was getting beat up next to / in Penny's by a couple of men, he walked away from that fight and simply walked down the street, right upto my wife and punched her in the face.

He simply stood there over her after she fell to the ground, completely comatose and then simply calmly walked on.

I was in complete shock, everything seemed to be in slow motion, I can still see my wife hitting the ground and I seemed to be watching her from outside my body.

As he moved i ran after him as people collected around my wife and grabbed him by the collar, he simply turned again in a completely comatose fashion and stared at me and then simply kept on walking. I raced back to my wife , held her, tried to let her let me see her face to see how badly she was hurt.

I didnt have my cell on me, yelled at someone in the crowd to give me a cell phone, someone called the garda whilst I got up and raced down the street after the guy. All the while no one interfered or tried to stop him.

He had turned into the street behind Ilac centre. I yelled at him to stop and asked someone on the street for a cell phone to call the garda again.

I kept running up to catch up with him, whilst I heard running steps behind me, the garda had arrived and raced ahead to catch him. There were a couple of asian boys with them who had raced with them since they had witnessed the whole thing.

The garda caught the man, he simply still remained comatose and gave himself up without saying a word.

Went back to to my wife, she was now standing up against the door of the store, the garda took our statements and sent us to Mater for her checkup.

She has a nasty bruise, right check is all swollen up, but not injury to her teeth, nose or eye. Had xrays done this morning. Thank God!

I am still in shock that something like that would happen.....completely unprovoked........I think my wife is going to be very scared to venture out after this and I am not sure how to reassure her...am trying , but realise it will take some days.

I know the attack wasnt racist ( am asian and so is my wife). It was just random , unprovoked and makes me really sad and horrified.

I intend to prosecute the man to the fullest extent of the law - not sure what that would constitute.

Sorry about what happened to your wife, but you got a hold of this guy and then let him calmly walk away? WTF is wrong with you?

I am by no means a violent person, but if someone hurt a partner or even just a friend like this, then that person would have a hard time walking for the rest of their life!!

Sqaull20

Stekelly wrote: »

Theres very little chance of ending up in court for giving him a hiding. Even the most hard nosed of Gards would put that down to defending your wife. Plenty of people get hurt while being restrained.

Its about the only time you can get away going Tyson on someone.

This would come natural to most I think, no offence OP but you should have ripped the **** out of him no matter how big or ****ed up he was..

DonJose

bermuda wrote: »

I intend to prosecute the man to the fullest extent of the law - not sure what that would constitute.

Speak to a lawyer about a civil action.

The Recliner

MagicMarker wrote: »

Sorry about what happened to your wife, but you got a hold of this guy and then let him calmly walk away? WTF is wrong with you?

I am by no means a violent person, but if someone hurt a partner or even just a friend like this, then that person would have a hard time walking for the rest of their life!!

Sqaull20 wrote: »

Its about the only time you can get away going Tyson on someone.

This would come natural to most I think, no offence OP but you should have ripped the **** out of him no matter how big or ****ed up he was..

That is very easy to say but the shock of it and the worry about the health of your wife etc explains why the op acted the way he did

It is not that easy to go John Rambo on someones ass when you are in shock/worried about someone

Sqaull20

Of course anybody could freeze, but the OP didnt he had the guy in his arms..

bronte

Jesus, I'm sorry that happened op.
I hope it gets followed through, and your wife doesn't suffer too much.
My heart goes out to you.

Degsy

I was standing outside Fibbers when this bloke with no top on ran towards us,roaring.I levelled the cnunt with a right hander that had me picking bits of teeth out of my knuckle for weeks afterwards:mad:

JC 2K3

I don't know what's more disturbing, the event itself or the fact that posters here are genuinely shocked and baffled as to why the OP didn't beat up your man,

I, for one, praise the OP for reacting in a civilised, non-violent manner.

darkman2

To the OP: Sorry for what happened but you have to use common sense aswell. Parnell street is pretty much no go after 6 in the evening. Those that have avoided a hiding up there are lucky - they will say it is not that bad - but it is. Not only Dublin scumbags btw but its the future with the immigrants aswell - which will lead to wider trouble. Parnell street is no go at night. Just remember that. Happy the Guards caught this thug.

MagicMarker

JC 2K3 wrote: »

I don't know what's more disturbing, the event itself or the fact that posters here are genuinely shocked and baffled as to why the OP didn't beat up your man,

I, for one, praise the OP for reacting in a civilised, non-violent manner.

So what would you do if some random bloke in the street knocked out your girlfriend/wife/mother/sister?

Stand there like a tool being all civilized? Or better yet, make a citizen's arrest?

JC 2K3

Read the thread, what the OP did was, IMO, a good handling of the situation.

MagicMarker

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Read the thread, what the OP did was, IMO, a good handling of the situation.

What would you do?

ericl

OP: Sorry this happened.

Degsy wrote: »

I was standing outside Fibbers when this bloke with no top on ran towards us,roaring.I levelled the cnunt with a right hander that had me picking bits of teeth out of my knuckle for weeks afterwards:mad:

You, Sir' are my hero.

Requiem4adream

magick wrote: »

given our Justice system he will probably get an hour in jail

i got smashed over the head with a crow bar last year by scumbags in a weird random attack, 5 seconds after they did it one of them shouts "that's not them boys, leg it". 8 stitches (staples) only. blessed to have a thick head! We had witnesses (1 of whom knew them!!!), statements, Guards even knew who did it - then they said basically they are complete scum and would be best to chalk it up to a bad experience and move on!! So i moved on , with the headaches :mad:

I used to be pretty non-committal on these type of incidents with nutters but if someone punched my girlfriend in the head they would literally have to kill me to stop me ripping his ****ing head off by any means possible.

SimpleSam06

Jigsaw wrote: »

Lot of auld sh1te. He should have been beaten without mercy until he was slabbering spit and blood on the pavement and spasming. A few stampings perhaps. There is too much gheyness going on here. If someone lamps your wife, the guy should be supremely owned, just f**king ruined about the face.

+1, public kerb kickings for the win.

DublinWriter

bermuda wrote: »

I intend to prosecute the man to the fullest extent of the law - not sure what that would constitute.

Make sure your wife presses charges and the guards prosecute him in court, for starters.

You might be also able to find out a little about this guy from them, and if he is what a solicitor would call a 'mark'; basically someone worth suing. If so, your wife could take a civil action against him in conjunction with whatever public court action the guards pursue.

I hope your wife is OK. An incident like this can cause further shock and trauma days/weeks/months later.

Abi

Gavin shels wrote: »

Jaysis sounds how bad this country has come to in two senses:

1) Someone actually didn't grab the man for you instead of you having to leave your wife.

2) The fact someone would actually do such a thing to a female.

On the count of bystanders not intervening; the OP would be lucky to see much justice out of this for his wife to start with. Someone else gave a mock court scene eg. there - not far from the truth I'd say.

He hit this mans wife for no reason whatsoever, and his reactions dont come across none to sharp either. I would probably have done what the bystanders seemed to have done, comfort the wife and ring the Gardai. What is the use in getting hit yourself, spending the evening in the cop shop for fuck all to be done about it?

And regarding the hitting a female thing; not uncommon. My sister used to work in town, and was punched in the back while waiting at traffic lights - so hard she could hardly draw breath. Well, she just stood there as if she'd be Tango'd - pure shock. We could all say, we'd do this or we'd do that in this scenario; but you cant think over something that you don't expect to happen to you. Right then and there.

How many people here expect to get a punch in the face when you go out?

If you punch him back, you face an assault charge yourself. And because he was probably off his face on something, and probably a sad story behind him; law-wise you could be hit worse than he would!

My sister spent a lot of time wondering wtf she had done to deserve this. I done my best to convince her that it had nothing to do with her - he was just a prick. Its a total cliché, but only time will help ease the shock for the OP's wife.

Its a horrible thing to have happened OP. But all you can do is stay tight with the Gardai, and do the best you can for your wife.

Sherifu

Quite an adventure OP.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Gavin shels wrote: »

Jaysis sounds how bad this country has come to in two senses:

1) Someone actually didn't grab the man for you instead of you having to leave your wife.

2) The fact someone would actually do such a thing to a female.

I'd a similar incident only Friday night.

I was stopped at the lights of Clare St. and noticed a mugging over the road on South Leinster Street. A guy on a push bike robbing a tourist, I gave chase and caught him at the Alexander hotel.

The girl got her stuff back, but in the chase the fvcker threw her stuff to the ground, smashing her new digi-camera.

Anyway through it all NOT ONE PERSON came to help.

I went back to her at Kennedy's pub where some of the customers where comforting her - I thanked the lads on the door "Thanks for the help lads, yiz windy fvckers".

Turn's out the guy was a Roma who was arrested on Fishamble St earlier. He does his robberies on a pushbike - so beware.

OP, don't feel bad that you couldn't do more for your wife. Although I have a strong fight instinct I think I'd have been left in some shock like you were.

I hope you and your wife recover soon, but I feel this will leave mental scar's for a long time.

Oh the guards, OP don't hold up much hope that they'll do much in this country.

gixerfixer

JC 2K3 wrote: »

I don't know what's more disturbing, the event itself or the fact that posters here are genuinely shocked and baffled as to why the OP didn't beat up your man,

I, for one, praise the OP for reacting in a civilised, non-violent manner.

+1

kowloon

+1 Chopperbyrne, doesn't sound like regular troublemaking at all.

ART6

I have the greatest admiration for the OP's restraint. Some years ago three yobbos started hassling my wife as she waited for me outside the local chipper. I'm afraid I lost it completely and I slammed the one making the most noise up against the wall and damned nearly demolished it. The other two scrammed before I could catch 'em or I would probably have ended up on a murder charge. It incredible self control to do what the OP did when someone attacks one's wife/girlfriend/sister. Fair dues to you man, and please tell your wife not all of us are like that guy here. Please add my name to the long list of support you have seen in this thread.

flanum

i think its great the op didnt react physically at the time. Now he can get all the scumbags background info... address etc in court.

Sweet, own the fcuker when he doesnt expect it, just like he done to the ops wife!

JangoFett

I doubt anything will happen to this guy, he might get a slap on the wrist, or do maybe a month in jail, not enough if you ask me

gogglebok

ART6 wrote: »

I have the greatest admiration for the OP's restraint. .... Please add my name to the long list of support you have seen in this thread.

Mine too. I also applaud the intelligent suggestion that the guy might have been concussed. A good reminder not to go hitting people, whatever the circumstances.

gollyitsolly

My daughter was punched in the face last Paddys day while walking down a packed Grafton St. The guy just dissappeared into the crowds. Also heard a woman on radio being punched in the stomach going past Trinity college.Guy just ran off laughing. Nobody did anything. There are some sickos out there.