Can't even go for a quiet run in peace...

az2wp0sye65487

Just back home after my run was cut short.

A gang of traveller young fellas decided it'd be great craic to try start a fight with me.

At the moment I'm fuming... Adrenaline running... I want to go back and do all sorts. Looking at it logically I did the right thing just running home.

Just does my head in that I can't even use my local park without this shyte happening!!!

Have any of you had this experience before? What did you do? Did I do the right thing? I'm feckin ragin at the minute!!!

walshb

Damn right you did the right thing. A run is not worth losing your life.

AlfaZen

Waiting for the "Sure it's their culture ....blah blah blah".

Report it to the AGS OP. Pain I know an they'll probably not do anything but, if they keep getting reports of anti-social behavior they'll have to do something about it.

az2wp0sye65487

AlfaZen wrote: »

Waiting for the "Sure it's their culture ....blah blah blah".

Report it to the AGS OP. Pain I know an they'll probably not do anything but, if they keep getting reports of anti-social behavior they'll have to do something about it.

Yeah I was thinkin of goin the guards....

But you see, nothing actually happened. It almost happened but I got out of there in time.

But what do I say? "I was almost attacked earlier by a group of people I don't recognise"..... Nothing will come of it.

walshb

Did they threaten you either verbally or in a "physical" manner in which you felt intimidated? And, isn't loitering an offence? I would definitely report the incident. Sure, maybe nothing will happen, but at least YOU put it on record should someone else come to harm.

stop animal cruelty

You did the right thing. These kind of people are looking for trouble, & will keep giving you trouble if you answer back to them or anything. I know its really annoying, something like that happened to me before & l just ignored them, cause l knew they would follow me or keep an eye out for me again, their bored & have f*** all to do.

If they go at you again, verbally, you could go to the guards & just say look these fellas are shouting verbal abuse at me, don't wana make a report or anything but maybe ye might just keep an eye out of them.....something along those lines. You're prob not the only person their doing this too.

stop animal cruelty

or you could always go in the mornings if possible? they'll all prob still be in bed lol

godtabh

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Just back home after my run was cut short.

A gang of traveller young fellas decided it'd be great craic to try start a fight with me.

At the moment I'm fuming... Adrenaline running... I want to go back and do all sorts. Looking at it logically I did the right thing just running home.

Just does my head in that I can't even use my local park without this shyte happening!!!

Have any of you had this experience before? What did you do? Did I do the right thing? I'm feckin ragin at the minute!!!

I got pushed of my bike some travellers recently. They thought it was a great laugh and were towering over me when I was on the ground. I had to push my way up and face down some ginger bollox. There is some scum out there

az2wp0sye65487

Yeah they're definitely scum alright. I was on my first loop of the park and they were all just standing around. After I passed one of them on a bike came along behind me and roared in my ear to try scare me. He started laughing and cycled off. I did nothing, just kept going.

On my second lap I passed them again... Again most of them were standing around. The same one from last time started shouting something at me. I kept going. I could hear him behind me on his bike after I passed. As I turned round he was coming right up behind me, so I put my hands out and he came off his bike.

That's when the rest of them came running and surrounded me. I was tellin them to just leave me alone to get on with my run in peace but they were lookin for a fight.

Not much of a fight: 7 against 1...... I'm still fuming!!!

username123

Thats terrible OP.

You should definitely report it to the Guards, also to whoever looks after the park (county council or whoever). Also, if you know what site the travellers are from, report to the relevant housing authority as well.

Id also get onto local councillers about anti social behaviour in the local park making it dangerous for people.

az2wp0sye65487

username123 wrote: »

Thats terrible OP.

You should definitely report it to the Guards, also to whoever looks after the park (county council or whoever). Also, if you know what site the travellers are from, report to the relevant housing authority as well.

Yeah I'm thinking I'll report it. It's Dublin City Council that looks after the park. It's a bit of a kip to be honest - There are signs that people drink and light fires in there at night time...empty cans / broken bottles and remains of fires some weekend mornings... But normally during the day it's grand.

There are a fair few travellers round these parts. Few different sites. A few of the families are actually living in normal houses not far from me. I hope these pr**ks don't have anything to do with those gaffs.

username123

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Yeah I'm thinking I'll report it.

Absolutely, the more people that make noise about incidents like this the better.

You might be best off talking to the community guard, chances are he will know the particular kids you are talking about (if you can describe any of them even better) - its likely that this is not the first time they have caused problems and they are no doubt known to the guards - then perhaps you can find out which site and get on with reporting to the relevant authorities on that.

We had some anti social behaviour problems with local travellers (one site only) and after repeated complaints from locals over different issues (trying to start fights, messing with cars, frightening people at the shops etc..) they local council moved one particular family on and it all went quiet - the kids in that family were the ringleaders of it all.

So do report it, it could be the turning point of something being done.

ironclaw

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Just back home after my run was cut short.

A gang of traveller young fellas decided it'd be great craic to try start a fight with me.

At the moment I'm fuming... Adrenaline running... I want to go back and do all sorts. Looking at it logically I did the right thing just running home.

Just does my head in that I can't even use my local park without this shyte happening!!!

Have any of you had this experience before? What did you do? Did I do the right thing? I'm feckin ragin at the minute!!!

Where I live its a fairly regular occurrence. Entire depends on how many there are, their ages etc but I have made a stand. You just have to find the leader and they quickly buckle. Granted I'm 6' 6"+ as well.

walshb

ironclaw wrote: »

Where I live its a fairly regular occurrence. Entire depends on how many there are, their ages etc but I have made a stand. You just have to find the leader and they quickly buckle. Granted I'm 6' 6"+ as well.

Well, making a stand against a group could lead to you losing your life. Who's to say that they aren't carrying knives? I really do not think a "vigilante/hero" approach is the answer, even after assessing ages and numbers. Yes, defend yourself if you have to, but making a stand could be fatal. Your last option should be to make a stand or fight.

walshb

ASB and intimidation etc is a justice/Garda issue and if you can I think you should leave it to them.

az2wp0sye65487

ironclaw wrote: »

Where I live its a fairly regular occurrence. Entire depends on how many there are, their ages etc but I have made a stand. You just have to find the leader and they quickly buckle. Granted I'm 6' 6"+ as well.

Fancy joining me on my next run? ;-)

myflipflops

Getting abuse in Dublin while running was a regular enough occurrence. Most of it was harmless stuff from individuals or young lads or complete idiots smoking outside pubs and could be ignored. Some of it was more aggressive and it is very hard not to react. Personally, I have confronted individuals shouting proper abuse or throwing something at me a number of times.

Dave Burke from Mullingar (former national cross champ) was running in Dublin city about 10 years ago when a group of lads tripped him on purpose. Dave went back, told them what he thought and got a bad hiding for his trouble. Approaching groups like that on your own is a bad idea.

Unfortunately steviecakes, I think you have to ignore/avoid them. The other option is get a group run through the area. Groups of idiots are never very brave when you have equal numbers.

ironclaw

myflipflops wrote: »

Unfortunately steviecakes, I think you have to ignore/avoid them. The other option is get a group run through the area. Groups of idiots are never very brave when you have equal numbers.

Having said what I said above, in 90% of cases your better off walking (running :pac:) away. And this is the advice to follow.

Don't go back unless its seriously warranted or they strike first, again noting the exact demographics of the group.

2nd Row Donkey

Tell us what park it was, will ya!

stop animal cruelty

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Yeah they're definitely scum alright. I was on my first loop of the park and they were all just standing around. After I passed one of them on a bike came along behind me and roared in my ear to try scare me. He started laughing and cycled off. I did nothing, just kept going.

On my second lap I passed them again... Again most of them were standing around. The same one from last time started shouting something at me. I kept going. I could hear him behind me on his bike after I passed. As I turned round he was coming right up behind me, so I put my hands out and he came off his bike.

That's when the rest of them came running and surrounded me. I was tellin them to just leave me alone to get on with my run in peace but they were lookin for a fight.

Not much of a fight: 7 against 1...... I'm still fuming!!!

cu#ts

I know many people on this are saying report it but I'd think twice about it, they might have a fair idea it was you, the kind of people they are & the fact theres 7 of them, they're not going to back down that fast...I know why you'd love to give them a belt but these are the kind of people that won't let others get the one up on them...I would only go to the guards if they physically assaulted me

username123

stop animal cruelty wrote: »

they might have a fair idea it was you,

Id say the OP was only one of any number of people they had harassed that particular day, it could be anyone reporting them, a passerby even. You can be sure the OPs harassment was not an isolated case for scum like this.

stop animal cruelty

Thats true too, l already mentioned that in a previous post, you never really know!

Clearlier

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Yeah I was thinkin of goin the guards....

But you see, nothing actually happened. It almost happened but I got out of there in time.

But what do I say? "I was almost attacked earlier by a group of people I don't recognise"..... Nothing will come of it.

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Yeah they're definitely scum alright. I was on my first loop of the park and they were all just standing around. After I passed one of them on a bike came along behind me and roared in my ear to try scare me. He started laughing and cycled off. I did nothing, just kept going.

On my second lap I passed them again... Again most of them were standing around. The same one from last time started shouting something at me. I kept going. I could hear him behind me on his bike after I passed. As I turned round he was coming right up behind me, so I put my hands out and he came off his bike.

That's when the rest of them came running and surrounded me. I was tellin them to just leave me alone to get on with my run in peace but they were lookin for a fight.

Not much of a fight: 7 against 1...... I'm still fuming!!!

Something did happen. You knocked somebody off a bicycle. Yes, there are mitigating circumstances but in the cold light of day whose actions do you think will be perceived as more serious?

Leaving was definitely the right thing for you to do. Following up with the police would normally be the next course of action but I'm not sure I'd do it in light of what seems to have happened.

Might be worth checking in with the legal board as posters there might have a better idea of what options you have.

seanmacc

A couple of months back I was running down the Malahide Road in the tree covered area beside the park. Some smart arse thought it would be a great idea to throw a water baloon out of their passenger window at me soaking me from the waist down. So enraged I was at this happening I preceeded to sprint down the road after them to see them stuck at the traffic lights at the top of Swords/Malahide road with a Garda car stuck at the lights at the opposite side of the road. Unluckily for the two teenagers in the car I got to the squad car before the lights turned green.

Fair play to the Gardaí. Despite my out of breathedness, my hand jestures pointing at the offending teenagers in the car prompted them to pull in front of them. They did of course deny what they did, the Gardaí didn't need to go and survey the wet footpath up the road. They did the teenagers (It was the end of the leaving cert apparently) for driving without a full licenced driver, driving without L plates and towed the car to the pound (Apparently Daddy wasn't home tom collect it from them).

It ruined my running for the day though, I was 3k into a 12k circle and it was too dam cold to continue. I have noted the names and faces of these delinquents so as hopefully I can feck them over in some small way later in life.

az2wp0sye65487

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Tell us what park it was, will ya!

Dont worry it's nowhere near Tallaght!

robinph

If there is something to report then do so.

Otherwise you'll loose the right to moan in the future about "nothing being done". If you don't report things then how can you expect the situation to be improved?

Cleanman

seanmacc wrote: »

I have noted the names and faces of these delinquents so as hopefully I can feck them over in some small way later in life.

Remind me not to mess with you Sean!

Last winter, a group of us were doing a warm down in the Park after a session. There was a car parked up on the opposite side of the road and as we approached us, it sped off in the direction we were running from. All of a sudden, there were a few shouts from runners behind me. One guy was howling and was on the ground in pain. In the dark, it took us a couple of seconds to figure out what had happened. The little scumbags had thrown a few eggs at us. One unfortunate individual was hit in the nuts:eek:. We turned and started sprinting after the car. But we were all a little shagged after the session and the car was well gone. We didn't even get the reg. There was at least 10 of us though and I'm pretty sure justice would have been served there and then had we caught the car!

Anyway, I was bloody nervous everytime a car passed me in the dark for a couple of weeks after that. God knows what they could have thrown at us and where it could hit! Your man was unlucky in one way but lucky in another. As far as I know, no permanent damage was done:p

walshb

Cleanman wrote: »

I'm pretty sure justice would have been served there and then had we caught the car!
p

What would you guys have done? Beat them up? End up getting charged with assault and then a possible jail sentence, all for a couple of eggs. There seems to be a lot of anger/violence being thrown about on this thread!
:eek:

Cleanman

walshb wrote: »

What would you guys have done? Beat them up? End up getting charged with assault and then a possible jail sentence, all for a couple of eggs. There seems to be a lot of anger/violence being thrown about on this thread!
:eek:

Ha, I'm sure no violent act would have occured. The car was well gone anyway. I was hoping someone even got the car reg but to no avail.
You can understand why there was a lot of anger amoung the group though when one of the guys is in pain on the ground with nobody seeming to know what had happened. For me, it was the sudden sense of vunerability everytime a car approached and you are momentarily blinded by the lights as they pass that really stuck with me. What happens after the scumbags run out of eggs? What will they use on the next lap?

Deedee2012

Last year I was running on my own in local playing pitches, a traveller on a horse caught up with me and challenged me to a race, he probably thought it was funny but I was scared witless!

T runner

Deedee2012 wrote: »

Last year I was running on my own in local playing pitches, a traveller on a horse caught up with me and challenged me to a race, he probably thought it was funny but I was scared witless!

Dee....what on earth has this got to do with the original post?

Heliotrope

Where did this happen OP?

Dfmnoc

Deedee2012 wrote: »

Last year I was running on my own in local playing pitches, a traveller on a horse caught up with me and challenged me to a race, he probably thought it was funny but I was scared witless!

kinda racist

Mod: If you have a problem with a post then use the report function.

overthebridge

I run around the streets/roads/riverbanks of Limerick a lot and have had all manner of things thrown at me, shouted at me. I even had someone young fella run after me looking for my watch. I once even had a coin thrown at me from a moving car.

I think it's best practice to just completely ignore them and just keep running. It may be very submissive but even just avoiding eye contact can diffuse a situation.

OP if it's a park that you regularly run in then maybe a chat with the local community guard might help. But I would never engage them in anyway. You could be out for a few drinks with your other half some evening and may bump into them...

tunguska

Honestly I think you're wasting your time reporting it to the Gardai, they'll do nothing.
2 years ago the day before the marathon I was out for an easy run. I passed by a bus stop where 3 lads of about 17-18 where standing. One of them mouthed off to me. Now I should've just kept going and ignored them but I absolutely hate cowards who only mouth off when they've got back up. So I turned around and called him out. I told him he was a chicken **** and that if he wanted to say something to me he should do it when its one against one. More mouthing off. I then told him that I was more than willing for the two of us to sort this out just between ourselves. This is when he started to get worried. He chickened out, but then all 3 of them ran at me. I stood my ground. The one who'd be doing all the mouthin' off went to push me, I stepped to the side, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him on the ground. He got up and he was literally shaking, he didnt know what to do. He went to push me again and same as before Ii threw him on the ground, thats when the other two jumped me from behind(being the brave lads that they were). They hit me a few handbags and tried to get me to the ground. I grabbed one of them by the collar and wouldnt let go. I hit him a few digs while the other two hit me. Then I just started swinging digs left right and centre. The 3 of them ran off at this this point. I mean they were obviously a few mammys boys trying to be hard and the area it happened in was pretty respectable so maybe had it been somewhere else I'd be dead. The good news though was that my faith in humanity was damaged that day, not because of what those kids did but because of the reaction of passers by and people stopped at lights not 5 ft away from where the incident happened. There was literally a line of cars stopped at these lights and not one person got out to help me. There were people passing by aswell and again not one person helped me out. I dunno maybe its just me but had the roles been reversed and I saw one guy being attacked by 3 blokes I'd have been straight over to jump in and even the odds a little.
But anyway to damage my faith in humanity even further, I reported the incident to the Gardai and they did nothing. And that was with me providing them the name and address of one of the blokes involved. Im not advocating vigilantism but at the same time its hard not to do something when you know the law hasnt got your back.

woodchopper

So what some tramp shouts some abuse at you and all of a sudden you get into a rage. What about the 80,000 people abusing away teams in the Champions League? Do they jump into the crowd and fight?

I think people need to develop a thicker skin here. Also the days of fist fights are over. Its all glass bottles, screwdrivers to the heads that these guys go after.

Its better to be a good runner than a good fighter. In my day Id rather a few pebbles been thrown at me than been placed in a coffin. .

username123

woodchopper wrote: »

Its better to be a good runner than a good fighter.

+1

Still my self defence teacher from childhood. First class, sprints. Making a stand should be an action of last resort.

tunguska

woodchopper wrote: »

So what some tramp shouts some abuse at you and all of a sudden you get into a rage. What about the 80,000 people abusing away teams in the Champions League? Do they jump into the crowd and fight?

Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on this one woody but on the subject of abuse Im with Cantona.......

2nd Row Donkey

Alonzo Breezy Swinger wrote: »

Dont worry it's nowhere near Tallaght!

Arwh. Pity. I was going to suggest we put together a mob of vigilantes, something a kin to that film 'kick ass'.

az2wp0sye65487

Deedee2012 wrote: »

Last year I was running on my own in local playing pitches, a traveller on a horse caught up with me and challenged me to a race, he probably thought it was funny but I was scared witless!

In fairness, that does sound hilarious! I'd have given him a race for the craic. Doesn't sound like he meant any harm to be honest - just lookin for a race!

az2wp0sye65487

tunguska wrote: »

One of them mouthed off to me. Now I should've just kept going and ignored them but I absolutely hate cowards who only mouth off when they've got back up. So I turned around and called him out. I told him he was a chicken **** and that if he wanted to say something to me he should do it when its one against one. More mouthing off. I then told him that I was more than willing for the two of us to sort this out just between ourselves. This is when he started to get worried. He chickened out, but then all 3 of them ran at me. I stood my ground. The one who'd be doing all the mouthin' off went to push me, I stepped to the side, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him on the ground. He got up and he was literally shaking, he didnt know what to do. He went to push me again and same as before Ii threw him on the ground, thats when the other two jumped me from behind(being the brave lads that they were). They hit me a few handbags and tried to get me to the ground. I grabbed one of them by the collar and wouldnt let go. I hit him a few digs while the other two hit me. Then I just started swinging digs left right and centre. The 3 of them ran off at this this point. I mean they were obviously a few mammys boys trying to be hard and the area it happened in was pretty respectable so maybe had it been somewhere else I'd be dead.

I know what ya mean - I usually keep a calm cool head in situations where others would lose the head. But he had already come up behind me and tried to intimidate / scare me the on the first lap. So on the second lap when I heard him coming back up behind me I turn around and he ended up on the deck! As soon as it happened I thought 'oh bo**ox'..... As the other 6 were runnin at me!

az2wp0sye65487

woodchopper wrote: »

So what some tramp shouts some abuse at you and all of a sudden you get into a rage. What about the 80,000 people abusing away teams in the Champions League? Do they jump into the crowd and fight?

I think people need to develop a thicker skin here. Also the days of fist fights are over. Its all glass bottles, screwdrivers to the heads that these guys go after.

Its better to be a good runner than a good fighter. In my day Id rather a few pebbles been thrown at me than been placed in a coffin. .

I'm all for that. I usually ignore eejits - but this wasn't a one off... And he was about to do something the 2nd time so I couldn't just let him hit / kick / shout at me and cycle off laughing...

BTW sorry for the individual replies... Posting from my phone so can't multi-quote!