RTE presenter Oliver Callan has spoken out about his own fears following the unprovoked attack of a young gay man in Dublin over the weekend.
Callan, who was presenting The Ryan Tubridy Show this morning, talked about the terrifying incident and why he feels Dublin is more dangerous now than ever before.
Speaking of the young man who had to be hospitalised, the radio presenter said: “Most of the papers are leading with that appalling homophobic attack on the young Evan Somers, you might have heard.
READ MORE: Outrage after gay man beaten to a pulp on Dublin street for being 'different'
“So, Evan is 23 years of age and is a member of the Emerald Warriors - which is a gay rugby club in the city in Dublin - and he was attacked on what is basically one of the busiest intersections when it comes to nightlife in the whole country.
“Half-past three on a Saturday morning, where you would expect it to be heavily policed and where there are lots of people around.
“It’s that crossroads at Dublin City Centre if you know, on Dame Street beside the gay Spar as they call it because it is surrounded by all the gay nightlife spots in the city.
“He had no time to react at all, young Evan, and as he said ‘the man who assaulted me ran after us’ - he was with his cousin and his cousin’s boyfriend, so three of them were walking along the street at 3:30 in the morning, on a busy Saturday night.”
Evan told the Irish Mirror that the attacker “started to harass us, even before we had spoken to him.
“I had never seen him before, I remember him calling me a f****t, and that he was about to punch me and I had no time to react.”
The 23-year-old ended up with a fractured eye socket, two fractured bones in his ankle, a dislocated ankle, and small cuts and bruises. He also had to have surgery on his ankle.
Mr. Callan went on to describe his own experiences and from his friends living in the city and said: “I have countless stories about friends who are just nervous, and are going from nervous to terrified, of Dublin City Centre when they’re on their own in particular.
“We know the stories, we’ve discussed them many times - and you particularly hear of it on this programme as well.”
Then there is that of “women on their own in any part of the country and the comments, the stares, the menace and the sinister element in the country at the moment.
“I mean, I personally absolutely would not hold hands with my partner in public, and I’m 41 years of age and have been in Dublin 20 years.
“It feels more dangerous now than any time I remember.”
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