Gardaí in Cork are continuing to question a teenager about a serious assault that left a 29-year-old man in critical condition in hospital.
Detectives arrested a 19-year-old for questioning after he presented himself at Togher Garda station at about 10pm on Wednesday night following the assault in Carrigaline earlier in the day.
The victim sustained serious head injuries when he was struck repeatedly on a road in the Glenwood Court estate in the South Cork town at about 5.30pm on Wednesday.
Paramedics worked to stabilise the man at the scene before he was rushed to Cork University Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
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It is understood the man, who is single and from Glenwood Court, remains in a critical condition at Cork University Hospital following the emergency surgery.
Gardaí cordoned off the scene and garda technical experts carried out a forensic examination of the area for DNA evidence on Thursday.
Gardaí are continuing to quiz the 19-year-old, who is from the town. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardaí detain suspects for up to 24 hours before they must be either charged or released.
Meanwhile, a second teenager, aged 18 and also from Carrigaline, presented himself at Carrigaline Garda station on Wednesday and is assisting gardaí with their inquiries into the assault.
Officers have begun harvesting CCTV footage from the estate and around the town to try to establish what led to the serious assault on the injured man.
They have also begun door-to-door inquiries in the Glenwood Estate area and have appealed to anyone who may have witnessed any altercation or assault to contact them.
They have also appealed to passing motorists with dashcam footage to contact them at Togher Garda station on 021-4947120 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Seamus McGrath said news of the assault in Carrigaline had shocked the local community.
“Obviously my thoughts are with the victim and his family at this time and we’re all just hoping that he will pull through because he seems to have got a very bad beating and is now fighting for his life,” he said.
“But this assault happened in a very mature settled estate in the town – there is huge shock this morning but there is also a real feeling of frustration over the need for extra gardaí in the town.
“We needed more proactive police and greater garda visibility and while the individual members are doing their best, they are just too stretched, and we are not getting the level of service we deserve.
“We have been making that call for some time – we have 18,000 people living in Carrigaline and I’m told that we have 22 gardaí based in the station here to serve that community and it’s not enough.”
