A woman who was flashed while out for a run in Tralee has said people should be able to exercise without being harassed. 

On Sunday, The Kerryman journalist Sinead Kelleher was out exercising along the town’s River Run when she spotted a man in the distance. 

“I was just coming back from my run,” she recalled on Lunchtime Live.  

“There was a man standing there, a white male, with his hands cupped around his genitals, just standing up, just off the pathway.

“It happened in a split second; I was going, ‘Oh, my God, what just happened?’

“It's a very quick thing, but it does give you a fright, I suppose.” 

For a second it crossed her mind that he was actually using the bathroom, but that was not the case. 

“He was facing outwards with his hands around his genitals,” she said. 

“Anyone passing would have seen him.” 

Ms Kelleher returned home and contacted Gardaí, who were both sympathetic and responsive.  

“They said they'd send a patrol down,” she said. 

“They couldn't be faulted for that; I suppose my point of raising it really was to highlight that this does happen. 

“But more importantly, why should we put up with this as runners or walkers?

“And to get more patrols down there; maybe that would deter them?

“This shouldn't be happening when you're out running.”

'Now I'm afraid'

While Ms Kelleher said she considers herself “quite brave”, she admitted feeling nervous the next time she returned to the park. 

“I went back the next day and I was going, ‘Oh, I don't really know if I want to walk up here now’,” she said. 

“Because now I'm afraid they're going to be there again.”

Main image: Members of Gardaí on patrol. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie.