Joined by Newstalk’s Chief Reporter Barry Whyte, The Hard Shoulder’s Shane Coleman discussed the attack in Temple Bar and the neighbourhood’s declining safety.

A man was left critically injured following an alleged assault near Temple Bar earlier this week. The man, whose age is unknown, remains in a critical condition at Beaumont Hospital after the incident on Cope Street, Dublin 2, at around 12.30am on Wednesday morning.

Gardaí Commissioner Justin Kelly said a large investigation was working on the very serious incident but noted that given Dublin’s status as a big international European city there would always be incidents like this.

“This is just the nature of big cities”, he said. 

“Dublin is a safe city, Ireland is a safe country. In many reports like the Global Peace Index you can see how safe Ireland is on that.We're currently sitting as number two.”

Chief reporter Barry Whyte told Newstalk’s Shane Coleman that the question of Temple Bar’s safety depended on who was asked. 

“Temple Bar has a reputation, particularly at nights and many Dubliners actively avoid it after dark because they believe it's unsafe,” he said. 

He noted that the area had counted at least nine serious assaults for the past year alone. 

Micheal Kenny, a walking tour guide in the city, said that many more incidents never receive attention and that he regularly advises tourists to avoid Temple Bar at night. 

“I think the area is dangerous,” he told Newstalk. 

“I used to do walking tours down Adair Lane and Prices Lane,  which the council had tried to improve and sunk a bit of money into, but it's fallen asunder again.

“You go down, this junkie's shooting up, it's not being policed. I'd certainly stay out of it at night. I advise my children to not drink here”

He said the “manish” culture and normalisation of binge drinking in the area had brought an element of danger, and an element of unknown and unpredictability of what’s going to happen. 

Having witnessed numerous assaults himself, he is convinced the area is marked by an air of violence. 

“I've witnessed assaults in pubs here after football matches. A lot of that goes unreported but I told the bar staff they needed to call the police. They told me that if I wanted the police, I should ring them myself.

“There’s a lot of tradition around [Temple Bar] but this has now become a drunken drinking area, which is just unsafe.”

A busy night in Temple Bar. Picture by: Martin Thomas Photography. 

Newstalk Chief Reporter Barry Whyte told Shane Coleman that business owner community groups had been consistently calling for better lighting and CCTV coverage. 

He noted that there was significant CCTV coverage on Cope Street, where the attack took place, with 13 cameras for an area of about 200-300 metres in length. 

Speaking to people who are frequently in the area, he heard that despite the camera the area remains vulnerable and unsafe. 

Kylie, a young woman living in the area that while she would have walked around Temple Bar a couple years ago she definitely wouldn’t anymore.

“It’s gone so unsafe now, you wouldn’t know who you’d come across. There isn’t enough Gardaí on the streets.”

“There’s a lot of antisocial behaviour.”

John, a musician who plays in Temple Bar says he feels fine during the day but feels less comfortable in the evening. 

“If I can avoid nighttime slots I do, because I’m getting the train and you're walking through the city on your own and you're carrying around a lot of equipment which feels a bit vulnerable,” he told Barry Whyte. 

Host Shane Coleman noted a visible increase in Garda presence in the city centre. 

Stephen Kennedy, Chairperson of the Aston Quay and Temple Bar Business and Residence Alliance, says more Gardaí visibility is essential.

Gardaí are at the scene of a road traffic collision on O'Connell St.

He explained that when he first opened his shop on Aston Quay three years ago the situation was very challenging. 

They were reporting issues to the guards almost on an hourly basis such as drug use and antisocial behaviour. 

He said that the increased presence of guards on the street, high visibility foot patrols has led to an improvement in the last 12 to 14 months. 

“Meaures like standing shops are also very effective where where a guard is essentially standing in an area with high rates of antisocial behaviour. And he or she is acting as a lookout and a deterrent to antisocial behaviour.”

Main Image: Locked gates of pub. Picture by: Leah Farrell.