Man charged over alleged violent disorder involving group of gay men in Phoenix Park – The Irish Times

Gardaí have arrested and charged a man in connection with alleged violent disorder in Phoenix Park last Monday. The incident in the park, which was raised in the Seanad by Fine Gael senator Barry Ward, involved three gay men who were allegedly “chased” by six men armed with knives. Mr Ward said he spoke to one of the men who said he feared for his life as he was being chased.

“They were chased and, as he put it, ‘hunted’ by six men armed with knives,” Mr Ward said. He said the men got away “but God knows what would have happened if they hadn’t”.

Gardaí said they received an anonymous call following the incident and visited Phoenix Park.

( Three gay men 'stalked' in Phoenix Park by six knife-wielding men in 'shocking' incident )

“A search of the area was carried out and no one came forward to the gardaí. Following further inquiries, gardaí have identified a suspect,” they said.

The man, aged in his late teens, was arrested on suspicion of committing an offense under the Non-Fatal Offenses Against the Persons Act 1997 and detained at a Garda station in north of Dublin.

He has been charged and will appear in court tomorrow morning. Gardaí said investigations were continuing.

The Garda Síochána said it takes any hate crime or incident seriously and reported incidents are investigated.

He appealed to anyone with direct knowledge of the Phoenix Park incident to contact An Garda Síochána either at Cabra Garda Station on 01 666 7400 or the Garda National Community Engagement Office Diversity Unit on 01 666 3150, or through an advocacy group.

Mr Ward said in the Seanad that when victims contacted gardaí, “they were told there was no CCTV and they could not identify the crowd”.

The senator said “this is not enough” and called for Garda patrols in Phoenix Park.

The Garda Síochána said they had been in contact with LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups following the incident.