Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has led condemnation of an apparently homophobic attack on a young man in Dame Street in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Evan Somers (23) who remained in St James’ Hospital hospital on Monday posted on Twitter: “Last night a stranger called me a f****t before beating the sh*t out of me. He left me with a fractured eye socket, two fractures in my ankle, a dislocation in my ankle & some other minor injuries.”
Mr Somers, who plays rugby with Dublin’s Emerald Warriors, said “we have come a long way but still have such a long way to go in terms of equality”.
Last night a stranger called me a faggot before beating the shit out of me. He left me with a fractured eye socket, 2 fractures in my ankle, a dislocation in my ankle & some other minor injuries. We’ve come a long way but still have such a long way to go in terms of equality. pic.twitter.com/aAA8OQ83QY
— Evan (@ebintosh) April 10, 2022
Adding some pictures of his injuries he said: he “genuinely didn’t share this for attention, I felt like it needed to be seen instead of hidden away because this is the reality of what so many LGBTQ+ people go through regularly & if it makes you uncomfortable, maybe it should.
“For those wondering where this happened, it was on Dame Street in Dublin not too far away from Gay Spar/The George and it was about 3.30am.”
Mr Varadkar responded to the tweet saying he was “shocked and appalled that an assault of this nature happened in our capital city”.
The Tánaiste said he would be discussing with Minister for Justice Helen McEntee the Garda presence on the streets and “new hate crime laws”. He wished Mr Somers a speedy recovery.
Speaking to The Irish Times, the Tánaiste said there was “a sense among the community that there has been an uptick in verbal abuse on the streets and even assaults.”
Mr Varadkar said it was “unclear as yet if that’s backed up by other evidence but it has people worried.
“It would be sad if we fell backward given how far we have come as a society.”
“I am going to talk to Helen McEntee about it in the context of the Garda presence in the city centre and plans to strengthen our hate crime laws.
Ms McEntee said she was sickened by the alleged attack after photographs of Mr Somers’ injuries .
Speaking on a visit to Limerick City, Monday, Ms McEntee said: “I am utterly appalled by what happened, anybody who has seen the tweet and the pictures of what happened to this poor gentleman, it shouldn’t have happened.”
“Whoever is responsible we need to make sure the gardaí are allowed to carry out their work, and hopefully somebody will be [apprehended],” said Minister McEntee.
“I have spoken to the Tánaiste about this, he has raised it with me, but I’ve also spoken to the Garda Commissioner in recent weeks about Dublin City, and, about Operation Citizen, which was put in place just last year where we have over 500 additional garda hours every week. This was following Covid, [when] I suppose [there was] a sense of uneasiness within the city where there weren’t many people about on a daily basis.”
“But, I suppose the question is now do we need to do more and do we need more [garda] hours on top of that, and how do we support the commissioner to do that, so I will be speaking to [Garda Commissioner Drew Harris] again after my conversation with the Tánaiste,” Ms McEntee added.
“I want to increase garda numbers full-stop, and the fact that we have funding for 800 garda recruits this year, that’s a start, and however the Garda Commissioner deploys them is obviously a matter for the Commissioner,” she added.
The attack was also condemned by the singer Boy George who said : “What did your freedom to be who you are stir in this vile creature. I’m sorry for what have been through and hope they catch him. There are satellites that see everything.”
Support and condemnation of the attack was also offered by the Emerald Warriors RFC the George Bar and Nightclub and several thousand others. Leinster Rugby used Instagram to say: “Wishing Evan a speedy recovery #rugbyfamily.” Irish Rugby said “we stand shoulder to shoulder with Evan and with @ewrfc”, the latter being Emerald Warriors Twitter handle.
The Garda confirmed it was investigating the assault and “all the circumstances” including “any hate related motivation”.
Garda sources said CCTV footage had already been requested from the Spar shop on the corner of Dame Street and South Great George’s Street which was open at the time, and a number of other business premises in the area.
Witnesses or anyone with video or any information in relation to this assault to contact Pearse Street on 01 6669000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station, the Garda said.
