Damsels in Distress in Dublin

me_right_one

Every time I go to Dublin, I see these young women standing on Grafton St. and Henry St. looking all flustered, and stopping passing men to help them out. The first time I ever encountered this, I stopped. Yerone rattled off some story and I smelled a rat, so I walked away. But whats the deal with them? Are they prostitutes? Are they pickpockets? I sense there's a scam underway, but I just cant figure out what it is!!! Any ideas?

theteal

Genuinely no clue what this is about

Just bring the damsels to the saloon

The flying mouse

Just... Kick them in the face.

PirateShampoo

Ah country folk, your a strange breed indeed.

Winterlong

I have never seen this, and I live in dublin.

Either 1) You are on Harcourt street at 1am and the women are drunk and looking for a ride/lift home.
2) They are Gypsy beggars and their 'distressed' look is just their gypsy clothes.

ruairi

I could be doing the women you've seen wrong, but there used to be gangs that would use the woman to distract you while your wallet was lifted or bag ransacked. Could be the same thing. Watch out for the young wans who give you a hug and then "suddenly" realise they don't actually know you after all: they're after your wallet too. No point in going after them either, they usually have the goods handed off before the Gardaí catch up with them.

Lollipops23

I've never once seen this and I live and work in Dublin.
I have had an encounter with that South African bloke that's doing the rounds though- on O'Connell St, with a sob story about his stuff getting robbed in the hostel. I'd heard of him before and told him I'd no money- he asked if he could escort me to an ATM. I told him to get bent.

ruairi

Lollipops23 wrote: »

I've never once seen this and I live and work in Dublin.
I have had an encounter with that South African bloke that's doing the rounds though- on O'Connell St, with a sob story about his stuff getting robbed in the hostel. I'd heard of him before and told him I'd no money- he asked if he could escort me to an ATM. I told him to get bent.

I also live and work in Dublin and have seen it, in spite of not spending too much time around Grafton St during the day as I'm not a fan of crowds. So yeah, different experiences, same city. Imagine that.

The South African guy seems to be all over. Ran into him off Dorset St one day. Seems to be a junkie, IMO. Doesn't get aggressive, IME, unlike some of them down by Busáras.

rogercross

I've seen some in groups in a fair old state, holding their shoes trying to get taxis etc, but I've never been stopped by anyone, what did that one say to you i'm curious now

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

rogercross wrote: »

I've seen some in groups in a fair old state, holding their shoes trying to get taxis etc, but I've never been stopped by anyone, what did that one say to you i'm curious now

Surely if you have both your shoes the next morning you weren't that drunk the night before?

Anyway OP, I don't know what you're talking about. I attract weirdos, any lunatic within a 2km radius of me seems to be able to seek me out. I've been asked to buy methadone, asked for money for groceries, asked for money for insulin etc etc but I've never seen damsels in distress with a sob story and I would have been in/around the city centre a lot.

me_irl

You sure they're not chuggers?

Stigura

OP, I've encountered this, in a place far, far away. It's simply another form of begging / scamming. Enquire of ye damsel and she'll be very agitated and near to tears. She'll plead with ye that (Insert close one, perhaps baby) is sick and she needs to get to them, in some distant hospital.

Thus, if you, kind sir, could just see ye way to coughing up the train / taxi fare, she'll be eternally grateful and on her way to her loved ones side :cool:

Try it, next time ye see one.

me_right_one

Lollipops23 wrote: »

I've never once seen this and I live and work in Dublin....

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Anyway OP, I don't know what you're talking about. I attract weirdos, .... but I've never seen damsels in distress with a sob story and I would have been in/around the city centre a lot.

Ya see, you's are both girls! Therein lies the scam. These damsels specifically seek out lone men. I've stood back and watched them. As Stugura says, they are almost crying, they always have a sob story, and they always hang around the same places. I cant remember what yerone said to me, but it was leading to me doing her a favour. Dodgy as fluck.

Dr Crayfish

What about that old woman that kind of looks like an actual troll. She has a traveller accent and really lays into passers by with PLEASE HELP ME PLEASE PLEASE. She's usually around St Stephen's green end of Grafton St.
I can't for the life of me understand why the Government has no plan in place to deal with the amount of beggars and junkies in Dublin city centre.

Masala

I seen a woman crying to strangers tgat her purse was stolen and she has no money to feed her baby ( whio was in a pushchair with her). People were giving her a lot if attention.

I came back up grafton st about 15 mins later and there she was again balling her eyes out to a new set of strangers...

Man.. She sure could turn on those tears.

Brock Turnpike

Lived overseas for over six years and I was shocked by the level of begging in Dublin when I moved back home. Couldn't walk a couple of hundred feet without being pestered, up around Dame Street area.

Dr Crayfish

Masala wrote: »

I seen a woman crying to strangers tgat her purse was stolen and she has no money to feed her baby ( whio was in a pushchair with her). People were giving her a lot if attention.

I came back up grafton st about 15 mins later and there she was again balling her eyes out to a new set of strangers...

Man.. She sure could turn on those tears.

Yes there are 2 traveller women that hang around there doing that. One of them was on my bus to Finglas once a couple of years ago and was collected by her sons or whatever in a transit van. They've been at it years. So they basically con people and the Garda do nothing about it.

sonofenoch

You need to change your name Mr Right

tupenny

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

What about that old woman that kind of looks like an actual troll. She has a traveller accent and really lays into passers by with PLEASE HELP ME PLEASE PLEASE. She's usually around St Stephen's green end of Grafton St.
I can't for the life of me understand why the Government has no plan in place to deal with the amount of beggars and junkies in Dublin city centre.

She's up in the green this afternoon roaring and shaking her paper cup in peoples faces

Son Of A Vidic

me_right_one wrote: »

Every time I go to Dublin, I see these young women standing on Grafton St. and Henry St. looking all flustered, and stopping passing men...

Hookers?

bodhrandude

I see loads of them in Galway too, women begging for the price of bus fare or hostel and not bad looking either.

GBX

Are they the tourist ambassador types that will tell ya where is what if your lost?

Mister Vain

I'm surprised John Rambo hasn't jumped in yet to defend his precious Dublin.

niamhlaherty

While walking through Stephens green today on my way home after finishing work I was approached by 2 young women, they kind of boxed me in one beside me and one blocking my path in front. The one in front told me a sob story about how she is 4 months pregnant and homeless and asked for spare change. I didn't have any cash so I explained that I couldn't help them and attempted to manoeuvre past them however these ladies did not take kindly to this they started screaming abuse at me. I walked away but they followed still shouting and then one of them pushed me thankfully I didn't fall just stumbled forward and then ran like the wind while they continued to shout. I managed b to get away from them but have never experienced this before so I got a bit of a fright. I understand that some homeless people need to beg to survive and addiction is a horrible thing but approaching people (especially 2 at a time) is intimidating and to get angry and aggressive when someone doesn't give you money that they worked hard for is just ridiculous. Has anyone else had this experience?

FTA69

These sort of aggressive beggars employ subtle intimidation and guilt tactics designed to prey on your sensibilities or fears. The best tactic is to keep alert, have a brisk walk and do not stop walking under any circumstances. The minute you stop and engage they'll try and overwhelm you or crowd you in order to fluster you into giving them money to go away. Just march on and they'll be looking for the next mark in no time.

Some of the ones in London are gas the amount of effort they put in. There's an Irish fella I've seen all over North London who goes up to people outside pubs and reams off jokes. He's actually hilarious and always has different jokes in fairness to him.

Other ones are Roma who dress in full Islamic regalia and hang around mosques seeking "zakat" off elderly Muslims, I swear they've memorised half the Qu'uran the way they carry on.

Another lad is a fella with a bushy beard who kneels down with no shoes on, clasps his hands in front of him and erupts into floods of tears like something out of a Biblical scene. I watched him from a cafe once and he was crying real tears for an hour straight.

Outlaw Pete

Don't pay heed to anyone telling you need food. There are three or four places for regular meals in Dublin and then there are services that go out and feed people and they go to the same spots each and every night. They have turned the GPO into scandalous looking mess every night. I don't begrudge people food, haircuts and clothes (that's what they have set up most nights at the main doors) but do it someplace else. People come from all over the world to take photos of the GPO and not to see it looking like a doss house.

I have these girls coming up to me the odd time also. Usually telling they're pregnant or they have to get to Carlow or they need €10 by 11pm so they can get the last hostel place. All baloney. The only thing I ever offer them is to buy a cup of coffee and more often than not they refuse it and tell you to fcuk off and off they go to the next mug.

There's one woman that stands on Wicklow St and will deliberately have greased her hair up and say she wants money to feed her kids as her husband is an alco. She's a fake also. Doing it years. She lives down near Connolly Station and looks quite well when not disguised as a battered wife.

You get to know which ones are legit over time. The guys on the Millennium Bridge are not homeless. See them leaving there around 11pm and walking towards Rathmines many times and one night I seen them all standing at door of one those old Georgian house in Rathmines.. Always smartly dressed underneath.

Sadly I recently heard that the guy that used to sit on on Henry St with the rabbit took his own life awhile back.

There's some characters around the place. The guy that is constantly sucking on a can of gas with sleeping bag around his neck is doing that year.s How in the name of God is he still standing. Full head of hair on him too, grand healthy colour and yet there's sick kids dying and nobody knows a fcuk why. The world's mad.

oik

Winterlong wrote: »

I have never seen this, and I live in dublin.

Either 1) You are on Harcourt street at 1am and the women are drunk and looking for a ride/lift home.
2) They are Gypsy beggars and their 'distressed' look is just their gypsy clothes.

I have had them come up to me in Stephens Green in the middle of the day with some spiel about how their boyfriend kicked them out and they need money for a train somewhere or some other bollocks.