Gardaí in Dublin are continuing efforts to identify a man with a distinctive tattoo who was seriously injured in an assault in Temple Bar in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The man was attacked by two men on Cope Street shortly after 12.30am and was later found unconscious. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
His age is unknown, and Gardaí say the tattoo on the inside of his right forearm depicts a blue and white flag with the words “Ceol is Beatha”. Investigators have been unable to speak to him and say he had no identification — such as a driver’s licence or bank cards — on him at the time of the incident.
They are urging anyone who may recognise the description or who has information about the assault to contact them.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Aston Quay and Temple Bar Business and Residents Alliance has renewed calls for increased garda presence in the area following the attack.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Stephen Kennedy described incidents of violence in the area as “very upsetting” and said that “peoples' lives are often ruined.”
Mr Kennedy, who owns the Copper and Straw coffee shop in Temple Bar, acknowledged there has been “significant improvement” in tackling anti-social behaviour over the past 12 to 14 months. However, he warned that “we can’t get complacent.”
Reflecting on when he first opened his Aston Quay store more than three years ago, he said the situation had been “particularly challenging” and that drug dealing and anti-social behaviour were being reported to gardaí “almost on an hourly basis.”
He added: “I think there’s a new approach to public order policing in the city centre. There are more guards on the street — there still aren’t enough but there are more.”
Mr Kennedy said high-visibility foot patrols are now operating in areas of Temple Bar with high rates of anti-social behaviour, along with standing stops where officers remain stationed as a visible deterrent.
“Measures like that have been really effective, that’s the feedback from our group. We are seeing the benefit of that,” he said.
Despite progress, he stressed that further resources are required.
“Our message isn’t that the situation is resolved — it’s not. The city centre is a complex, challenging place to live, to work and to run a business.”
He concluded: “It’s important to acknowledge the progress over the last while but we just can’t be complacent. We’re really calling for more resourcing in the city centre. More guards on the street, certainly in places like Temple Bar, which is such a busy part of the city centre and such an important part for our tourist offering. Every time you turn a street corner in Temple Bar you do need to see a guard, it’s that important and that simple.”
