Gardaí in Galway are encouraging a Polish teen who was viciously assaulted in Eyre Square last week to come forward in an effort to find his attackers.
The 19-year-old Polish man who was repeatedly beaten and kicked in the head by two youths in Eyre Square last Sunday is being encouraged by gardai to make an official complaint so they can begin the search for the culprits.
A representative from the Garda Press Office said that gardai attending a traffic collision in the area were made aware of the attack, which took place at about 5.30pm, but as of midday Thursday no complaint had been made to the gardaí.
“We always encourage someone who has been a victim of an attack to come forward,” said Garda Supt Senan Wall when speaking Galway First on Friday.
The assault was eventually broken up by Laois cinematographer John Conroy, who worked on such films as Sweeney Todd, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when he intervened as the man lay helpless on the ground. He said the victim’s face was completely swollen and he was badly bleeding from his mouth.
Mr Conroy told The Irish Daily Star that the young man had seemed to be drunk but was minding his own business laying on the grass with his eyes closed when he was set upon.
The young man was taken to University Hospital Galway shortly after and was treated for his injuries.
The vicious attack came just days before the Central Statistics Office (CSO ) published its quarterly crime figures showing that public order offences in the city and throughout the west of Galway have been steadily increasing and have more than doubled since the first half of 2004. Four years ago there were a reported 332 offences, compared to the first half of 2008 when there were 715 reports. Harassment and other related offences are also shown to be on the increase the figures show.
Speaking to The Irish Times last week Chief Supt Tom Curley said that, contrary to the fact that nationally there has been a slight drop in public order and other social code offences, Galway is “no worse than other cities given its population.”
