A Dublin man was left with a bloodied face after being attacked by homophobic thugs.
The incident happened on a Dublin bus in the early hours of Sunday morning. Mark Sheehan, 26, was on his way home from the city centre on the number 15 bus when the horrific attack took place.
Mark said: "Just before 4am, I was attacked on the 15 bus in Tempelogue. A group of young men sat behind me and proceeded to mock and jeer at my friends and I for the duration of the journey out of town."
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Mark confronted the group of lads after he heard a number of homophobic insults. He said: "I turned around and said to act their age. This prompted one of the young men to kick the earphones from my hand and across the bus."
Mark said he heard laughter as he tried to look for his earphones. When he asked the man why he kicked his earphones from his hands, another lad started threatening him.
"At this point I was leaving the upper floor and the person who had kicked me ran up and headbutted me. I looked down and saw blood covering my shoes."
He added: "I am completely shook up by this. I spent the following 6 hours in the hospital."
Three days following the attack, Mark is still struggling with his injuries. "My eyes are beginning to bruise now as well. I will need the swelling to go down before I get an X-Ray."
Calls have been made to establish a "transport policing system" within An Garda Siochana following the attack. Sinn Fein's Martin Kenny TD said: "The fact that we once again woke up this morning to learn of yet another cowardly homophobic attack in our capital city is of deep concern, and will once again cause great distress and worry among our LGBTQ community who increasingly feel that their safety is under threat.
"Everyone has a right to feel safe on our streets, in their homes, and going about their daily business. I wish to extend my solidarity with the victim of this cowardly act of violence. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope that there is sufficient CCTV footage to bring the perpetrator to justice."
A garda spokesman said: "Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances of an assault on a man in his 20s that occurred on the Firhouse Road at approximately 4:00am on Sunday, 14th August 2022.
"The injured party was taken to Tallaght University Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. No arrests have been made at this time.
"Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses or for anyone with any information in relation to this assault to contact Tallaght Garda Station on 01 666 6000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station."
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