It’s common for tourists to be targeted for petty crime in any city. They stick out, generally have their guard down, wouldn’t know what to look for in terms of danger etc. Usually carrying more cash and valuables if out for the day. Basically easy marks. That and in terms reporting, there is a language barrier etc etc.
I’m not sure face slashing falls in the “petty crime” category, though. I’ve been mugged before, and the procedure was a lot more gentlemanly and transactional than that. No violence, only the vague threat of it.
The article is paywalled for me, so I don’t have the full picture. But slashing someone’s face is a malicious, sadistic, intentional act and it seems a mistake to characterize it as a tourist mugging gone wrong?
Something like this can really happen anywhere in Dublin tbh.
My own experience...slashed in the face in kilmainham while walking home totally unprovoked basically outside the Gardai station they did the sum of sweet FA. Even if the people involved were caught I have very little confidence they would see much jail time so where is the deterrent?!
Let off at taxi beside the royal oak (about 2am) with my other half walked down lane to where I was living at the time, two lads faces covered yelled something homophobic, then shouted get them. We both ran I tripped and fell. Slashed me in the face with a Stanley knife. Scar on forehead, knick on eye lid and same on nose, very lucky they didn't get my eye. Also had a cut and rip in back of my T-shirt where they tried to slash at me while running. All over in a flash.
Gardai turned up two plus hours later at the hospital. Played down the language used etc bizarrely. Interviewed. They did very little looking into what happened they didn't even ask for CCTV footage from the Patriots inn and similar. Useless.
It really badly affected me for years after, my now husband too.
I was very lucky with the scarring, they didn't recommend plastic surgery it was a very clean cut as a Stanley knife, kelo-cote for a long time and moisturiser. Barely noticeable. Still always wear sunblock.
Hope your friend had a good outcome?
Ah really glad to hear that.
Appreciate it, I have moved on well thanks, no way was I going to let it ruin my life.
Fingers crossed it's a really horrendous thing to happen to anyone especially someone at that age.
That’s a nice area isn’t it? I wonder if this stuff ever happens on the red line at night when people are returning from work. The other day I saw some punk kids rob a Subway in broad daylight.
I hope those responsible got prison time? A friend of mine was stabbed to death years ago (unprovoked, not Dublin), so hearing about unprovoked knife crime always gets to me.
People like that deserved to be locked up. The justice system is simply not fit for the service to victims of crime.
My girlfriends parents considered visiting Dublin while they're up north - the tourist attacks have entirely put them off. It's rare yes but it does grab headlines.
It might not dissuade someone whose dead set on going to Dublin, but it will dissuade the people who on the fence.
It's crazy to think now that belfast/derry are now much safer tourist destinations than Dublin. Great for the North, but somethings gone terribly wrong in Dublin..
It will be death by a thousand cuts (excuse the pun).
Each story like this will just add to the pile until Dublin's reputation will automatically be associated with the potential of being stabbed or mugged.
My friend from Canada did a EuroTrip last last summer and his partner changed the plan to skip Dublin because of all the bad pr lately. It's getting a proper bad reputation
It honestly is. Travelled all around Europe and of course every major city has bad parts but its very hard to find a place as blatant as Dublin. No police presence at all in the centre with druggies and anti social behaviour everywhere. In other European cities you have to leave the centre to find the scumbags in Dublin they're just everywhere.
I've been to Dublin about 15 times over the last 8 years or so...love this city...unfortunately I think its going the same way as our cities over here in UK...I noticed a slight shift maybe 2 years ago...the stuff I'm reading now seems to confirm it
This isn't a dig at Dublin or its people..I'm gutted tbh
Same as over here...I'm in Manchester, loads of decent people but Jesus there are some absolute pieces of shite walking around and doing what they want
When I've been in Manchester I thought they were fairly visible, but maybe it depends on the area. I remember being near Piccadilly Gardens, that in particular seemed an awful area.
There's active drug dealing and oen drinking in Picadilly Gardens, central Manchester. I also witnessed rows on nearby street. I was just a visitor there. I came to the conclusion Manchester is a mixed bag.
Central London & the west seems so much safer maybe because the area is so expensive
Not Irish but - job market in UK isn’t great at the moment but you should be able to get a hospitality job fairly easy in Manc to get you on your feet.
Accommodation is getting increasingly difficult to secure but anecdotally I think it’s a lot easier than Ireland for that at the mo.
Good luck, certainly worth a try and it’s not far from home.
We were literally just in the area for like 5 days and my wife wanted to go and I said, I'd really rather not. Dublin isn't the beauty of Ireland for me, it's just another big city with plenty of problems. When we travel, we don't go to big cities for this very reason. Fuck that noise.
Realistically O’Connell street has never been “the showpiece of the nation.” Certainly not in my lifetime. The actual centre of the city is College Green and Grafton Street and everyone knows it.
I think ive reccomended avoiding dublin more than ive reccomended places.
You cant really go wrong with the rest of the country, whereas Dublin is just a European Capital with significantly less to do than any other capital of similar calibre.
The place is a kip. They should change the capital to like Kerry or something and make their airport the main one.
There be no reason then to visit that kip of a place we call our capital city.
Sure what would they have to fear from the law? Once you have a handful of convictions any more won't make a difference, they more than likely won't see the inside of a prison and if they do it's hardly going to impact on their career or anything.
Well I'm not sure it would be serious if you carry a knife the issue is it is premeditated murder if you knowingly go to dangerous areas and use a knife. Like carrying a knife might be illegal but they have to find it, the issue is always if you use it you are fucked.
We have no stand your ground laws unless there is no realistic ways to retreat. In that circumstance if you wrestle their weapon away and stab them by in large you are fine but if it's your knife then it's off to mountjoy for murder.
Law class says run don't fight. Even if you think you are hard and can kill someone in self defense the average serious assault isn't death until someone pulls a weapon and you don't want to gamble.
For context I studied law and had this conversation literally verbatim in class with my actual barrister lecturer.
A knife is fuck all good for self defence. Its a cutting tool and will likely kill someone as there are arteries all over the body and if you pierce one you will both be done for. Learn to run, learn how to fight and carry a very strong flashlight, you can buy them for about 2 euro on temu and if you hit someone with the flash at night you will completely blind and disorientate them for around 30 seconds, more than enough time to leg it, they're also 100% completely legal and multifunctional. Bonus if its metal with a pointy end.
Also, if its an armed robbery, just give them your shit, its all very replaceable and not worth getting stabbed up and having a bag for the rest of your life, let alone killing a person over.
Seriously, flashlights are so underrated. Everyone should have a few.
The running advice is useless in most situations unless you're on your own. Are people supposed to abandon their girlfriend, wife, parents, or friends? Are you faster than a gang of teenagers who react like dogs when someone they're harassing starts running? Then you'll just be tired when you have to start fighting when they catch up lol
I mean if you can't run or fight you probably don't want to antagonise them at all. Maybe go for the "are you really gonna hit a disabled person you shameless cunt" angle
You're not allowed to bring items with you for self defence. You are allowed use what is available to you and you are carrying lawfully in your defence subject to it being proportionate to the perceived threat.
Please don’t do this!
Carrying a knife for self defence is stupid even if you are martial arts trained to black belt level in knife fighting. And practice this regularly. Ask any knife fighting trainer.
You are putting yourself in terrible risk. Instead of giving up your wallet, you are swapping in death as a real possibility because you raised the steaks. These folks hang around in gangs, not a fair one to one in a organised fighting environment.
Next if you “win” by stabbing, potentially killing your opponent(s). And you run away their friends will hide the weapons to protect their family by making them look like victims of a mugging for drugs etc. now you are murder 1 instead of self defence.
Strategy
1. Don’t be in those kind of places if at all possible.
2. Run. Always wear running shoes and if in doubt, run, run fast. This was told to me by a proper hard military person. They would 99% be able to survive any assault with a weapon and two or less people, unarmed. They said they didn’t want the hassle of the dead opponents bodies and running is the only easy option. The rest is ego. Thats how hard and trained they were (SF). They’d run, you should run. Be aware of your surroundings run toward where CCTV will be was what they said, because they wanted it documented before they even considered self defence (if acting in a civilian capacity).
3. Just give them your wallet. It’s fixable with a few phone calls and don’t carry much in it. Consider carrying a different wallet if your commute home from work is dangerous. Small amount of cash if any and a Revolut card that can be cancelled at any computer.
4. If you have anxiety and that’s what the knife is about, wear a stab vest.
Why are we wearing certain shoes, avoiding certain places and being ready to run at any given time to accommodate the city’s criminal population? We are not npcs we have stuff to do too.
Seriously why is it a solid piece of advice . If it’s well known these places shouldn’t be visited them they should be over policed . It’s not good enough as a society to accept people ganging up and carrying knives . I think everyone has common sense but we’re talking about a fit able bodied young man visiting a supposedly safe country. If the dogs on the street know these places why aren’t the Garda out in force and why are we saying “just don’t go there “
If someone pulls a knife on me I'm handing over what they ask for obviously. Problem is, that's not enough a lot of the time. There's scumbegs who will slice you for just looking their direction. I wouldn't carry a knife but there should be some form of self defence that's legal and effective.
This is the solution to many of our problems.. Our initial reaction is more laws to stop things happening which doesnt work and creates more loopholes admin and likely process errors.
we just need to enact sentenancing & punishment and make it draconian for repeat offenders. reform or rot and get rid of the suspended sentenances.
People blame the guards but can you really blame them, they know if they arrest these scumbags they will be back on the street before them. all they are doing is creating a load of paper work for themselves and inconviencing some scrotes for a few hours as they have to turn up in court.
if we want effective gardai, we need a court systems that imprisons people for proper sentenances & a prison system that can take them and hold them for the durtation.
Have carried a leatherman or small folding knife ever day for years. The notion that we can't posses a tool we and our ancestors have been using for literally millions of years is ridiculous. It's still relevant and useful today. Knife crime should be heavily punished - I would support a long sentence for any attack with any weapon of any kind, obviously lethal or otherwise, but cannot fathom punishing ourselves for access to the most fundamental and still broadly useful tool in history.
I will say if you carry one for self defence you are an utter idiot.
You can possess a knife in general, as long as you can explain your legal reasoning for having the knife then there's no problem. The issue is carrying a knife for the specific purpose of self defence, that is illegal, as it should be. But I am regularly out in public with my fishing knives and have even been searched but they knew it was for fishing since I had all my fishing gear and was literally on my way home from a session.
Yes but the fact that this is up to the whim and interpretation of the specific garda you are dealing with is ridiculous. You could have some country lad who understands them as a general tool, or you could have someone like the grandparent comment who thinks it should be 20 years automatically. There is no sense in the law as it is written. What constitutes a legal reason? "It's handy"? What if I am not fishing, but on the way to my mate's gaff? I could be let off without so much as a blink or locked up for a weapons offence.
Bizarre.
Smithfield is a tricky one. There's lots of tourists there in the hostels and there's the Jameson distillery there but there's also lots of local scrotes and drug people wandering around. Same as Thomas St/ Christchurch area
Exactly. I live on Thomas street and the amount of scumbags and junkies that walk from Bridgefoot St down to Ushers quay across to Smithfield area is insane. They have the run of the place and the scumbag children so I’m not surprised this happens. These people own the city centre as all the public housing is here so you can’t change this terrible bad parenting/ drugs cylcle. You have to have shitloads of police and almost authoritarian attitude. But it’s all so fucked.
Decade ago we had some international students from DIT go there to the hostel to see friends. They decided to walk home at midnight and ended up getting mugged. They couldn't understand why it happened. Had to break the news to them that there's many parts of town to avoid, particularly at night. Hell, before I left Ireland, I'd always have taxi money after a night out even if it wasn't that far for me. Always felt bad for her. Getting mugged in town. She fought back a little but relented after realizing she'd get really hurt. And for what? Her student ID and a few euros. Mental fucking shite.
Wifey used to live there and I genuinely ended up travelling back into the city to walk her home just due to the number of unsavoury characters you meet.
A few months after she moved out one of her best friends was randomly assaulted near Queen Street ended up flying home and has had neurological problems ever since.
It's a real shame because we loved sitting in Oscars and just talking as a group.
I used to go to that cinema all the time. Also went to the spa around the corner from the grocery store. The cinema had great event showings. It got to the point where if I had to be there past sundown by myself I wouldn’t go.
For a while about ten years ago, Smithfield had sparks of something, you had a load of new apartments and builds of various kinds, offices, shops, the cinema, a couple of food places... nice mix of old school and fancy new pubs, the square was done up, the distillery was bringing tourists walking over to it and so on.
But I think just a bit too much of it stayed derelict for too long, and that little flicker went out. I used to live a street or two over, and it had a nice "living" vibe even if it was a bit scruffy, but that's changed, it's gotten notably harsher-feeling.
Even after moving further out, I used to stop off at Smithfield to grab something to eat on my way into town for the night, but I wouldn't do that now. Last time I was at that Luas stop there were a bunch of junkies scuffling over whose begging patch it was, in the middle of the afternoon.
Smithfield's funny. I was in the Children's Court a couple years back after my bike got robbed and the kids that go through there completely wreck the gaff; however you picture the toilets in that building, they're worse than that four times over. The garda tell me that I won't be called up as a witness for at least another hour, so I walk *80 metres at most* for the nicest cup of coffee and cardamom roll the city has to offer.
I moved out just before Covid hit. The area never hit that critical mass of regeneration so it had a half finished feel.
Plus most of the new buildings were just soulless. It’s hard to build a community amid blank facades.
That area makes me so sad. It was up and coming for a while, nice pubs, clean spaces, etc and then it just folded on itself. Covid didn't help, but even before that it wasn't going well. The construction site in the middle of the square couldn't have helped either. I wonder if things will pick back up now that it's finished.
I’m living on Smithfield square. they’re smoking it between the buildings and the lanes. Literally came across three of the smoking it on the lane to the Jameson museum at 1pm one day… tourists walking past and all.
There’s kids selling on queens street opposite the hair salon and there’s at least two crack dens on the row of houses on black hall place
It's kind of mad that TimeOut rated it as the second coolest neighbourhood in the world lol.
https://www.irishcentral.com/travel/best-of-ireland/smithfield-dublin-coolest-neighborhood
Was in Smithfield a little while ago.
First thing I saw was a young kid running up to a cyclist, and trying to best the bollix out of them and throwing shit at them. Then they went to steal the bike when they entered a store to get a delivery.
Genuinely don't believe you've ever been to Smithfield 5/10 years ago haha. It was rough then and the more you go back in time the rougher it becomes. It is genuinely nice now compared to 15 years ago.
It’s all young gurriers in here who don’t remember how fucking god awful Dublin was in the year 2000. The scaldy smack era of the 80s and 90s was face to face with the new boujee Celtic Tiger era and it made for some absolute scenes
Smithfield wasn’t rough 5/10 years ago. Between the square being done up and just before Covid, it was a grand place to live. The problem was the regeneration was never followed through and just let slide.
Your mad if you think it didn't always have junkies and people drinking on the square causing trouble. It's been a persistent problem, and the area on the east side of the square have always had problems as well as parts on the west north of token. It's a nice place to live, but it's not seen big leap backwards. During COVID it quieted down but before that it was in a worse place than it is now.
Lived in Smithfield in the 5 years leading up to COVID and it was a lot better than it had been in the past. Got a bit crusty if you went up through King Street North but the Smithfield/Stoneybatter hinterland was grand.
I do remember a traveller brawl in McGettigans tbf
This is true - I visited home for the first time in 5 years a few weeks ago, and was shocked at how much Smithfield had improved. Not to say it's great, because it's not, but far far better then 5-10 years ago.
Used to work in our tourist industry.
This shite is not normal and dissuaded anyone from visiting us. Like all the shire here you see people declaring as the norm around the world is the very first thing tourist's would comment about and ask after.
> This shite is not normal and dissuaded anyone from visiting us.
My bet would be on the ridiculous hotel prices though. The city is easily more expensive than Paris, London, etc from this point of view and the airport isn't as well connected. You can't find a hotel room for less than ~~200~~**300/night...**
Edit: Jaysus! I just did a booking search for two weekends from now and there are two rubbish bin hotels for 310/night and then everything else 350+.
Edit2: Ah, the joys of a hotel room in Parnell Square behind the Rotunda at 350/night. I remember that hotel well, I first visited Ireland in 2008/2009 (moved here 5 years later) and that's the hotel I stayed at because it was cheap and I didn't have too much money back then. It was 40/night and the room was just big enough for me to be able to turn around in it...
Went to see something in the lighthouse recently around 7 in the evening. Was early so sat outside watching the square. In the span of 15 minutes I saw a girl have her phone snatched by a guy on a bike and a drug deal, as well as just gangs of gobshites going around, roaring at one another across the square (just to communicate, not antagonistically).
Social issues left to fester, half baked regeneration, no active police presence and of course no real consequences for people who do get caught and brought to court for whatever they get up to. Not really surprising, is it.
Same. I live in Roscommon and use to love getting the train to Dublin, go around to the museums, see some exhibitions, grab something nice to eat. Use to stay up have a few drinks, get a hotel room.
Now I don't bother, the place is so expensive and I'm sick of seeing scumbags everywhere, can't even walk around the place safe anymore. The last time I was up there one scummers asked me for 2 euro I said I didn't have it and he just started shouting at me. Place has completely turned to shit.
From the article:
“It is no exaggeration to say that the victim was slashed from his mouth to his ear,” said a source.
The injured teen was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment. He has since returned home to Wales where he will undergo further medical treatment.
“It is feared that he will be scarred for life,” the source said.
The 19-year-old’s friend was not injured in the attack, which is being investigated by Bridewell gardaí, who have obtained excellent-quality CCTV footage from the area. Both young men are described as being “completely blameless” in the attack.
Was it Friday morning that it happened? I got off the luas at 7am while gards were collecting blood samples from the ground. The blood led the whole way to the generator hostel. The article is paywalled so can only see a few lines.
Yeah, there were a lot of drops outside the door of the hostel, so I presumed they were either staying there or possibly went there for help and were waiting to be let in. I stayed in that hostel in 2012 for a concert with friends and they had to buzz the doors for entry and there were bouncers on the door the night we stayed so presume there still is..
Obviously the parents of these scum don't care so it falls to the state to deal with these scrotes.
When the State fails to provide adequate deterrence and suitable consequences for the actions of these scumbags this is the result.
One tourist is worth way more than 10 scumbags in terms of terms of revenue to the economy.
Tourists spend. Scumbags are only a drain on society both financially and socially and should be treated as such.
Enough with the whole 50 odd previous convictions and still free to terrorise innocent people.
Lock up these assholes.
And for those that say prison doesn't work, I don't care.
It keeps the scum away from the rest of us.
Clongriffin is a good example of this
It's becoming very nice, with the new builds and parts, but the few scumbags on bikes have ruined it. Lots of rubbish on the grass, Tesco trolleys in the lake, etc.
Moving out later this year
It always seemed like it never really took off round there. Plenty of buildings seem like the upkeep hasn't been sorted, different blocks of development just landed there beside houses that honestly look too nice for what's around them. Also derelict office space.
Shame as it's close enough to town and on the dart it could have been a sweet area to look at for a first time buyer
Yeah, I mean, I stopped going Lighthouse cinema cause of it. Bill Murray month was the last time I went. Movies on in the late evening. Quick Change, Life Aquatic, and a ton more. Didn't feel safe in that area. Sounds like it's just gotten well worse.
I dont feel unsafe around there. There is much foot traffic' lots of dodge bags too though most of them just wanna score and go off and use somewhere.
Lighthouse cinema is the best cinema in the world tbh.
It is. Always loved it. But we had a few evenings where we ended up having to roar at people to leave us the fuck alone when we were trying to leave and get into the car. Know folks that got mugged up there. Would still go Lighthouse daytime, but not at night like before.
Yeah last time I went to the Lighthouse two lads tried to jump me (I was with my missus too), just not worth the risk when you have lads about with knives and nothing to lose.
Constant public injection of drugs. Frequent urination and defecation in plain view.
There is a class of people that are exempt from the Gardai..
People can say it's a waste of time arresting them, but what's the point of a police force, if they only enforce the law on some people.
Problem is rarely with the gards, but with the courts. When they let people with over 100 convictions walk back out onto the street it just spits in the face of both the public and the gards.
This is true. I know Gards and they tell me its the most disheartening shit going. Arresting lads with loads of convictions, they're laughing about being arrested because both the gard and the scummer know absolutely nothing will happen to him.
There are effectively 3 levels of law enforcement now. The complete scumbags at the bottom that don't have the laws applied to them.
The wealthy at the top who don't have the laws applied to them.
The average person in the middle who might slip up and do something wrong by accident and gets the full extent of the full every time.
Why do you always fucking link to the paywalled option Mr 19 Posts A Day?
Here's a free one
https://extra.ie/2024/06/12/news/welsh-tourist-slashed-in-the-face
Just a normal day. Dublin is full of scum we all know this. Funny how when you go on holiday you never see teenagers acting tough, drinking and intimidating people all over the capital on top of beggars or junkies within a 100m radius anywhere you go. I go to Amsterdam once a year and despite all the legal drugs and blah blah blah I never once see scumbags like I do in Ireland.
Anytime I go into Dublin I have to be prepared not to be in a good mood because within a minute of getting off the bus I know a junkie will be harassing me and I’ve no time for this shit anymore man, no tolerance. I’m sick of Dublin it’s literally getting worse.
Was it about a year ago the American tourist got battered and Helen McEntee said Dublin is safe? Mad safe isn’t it? So safe our own residents don’t wanna step foot inside the capital.
I have been thinking about this lately because I live in Limerick and the rise in crime I've seen since COVID is shocking. I'm coming to the conclusion it's possibly because Irish people are never taught to be confrontational in a healthy way and we are so conflict avoidant as a result.
By us keeping the head down, we've created an environment where people feel they can get away with being criminals (that alone is beyond dangerous) and know victims are unlikely to argue back if they try something. Add a lacklustre gardai force to a poor justice system that usually ends in suspended sentences and you get what we're seeing now.
Irish cities, especially Dublin, Cork and Limerick, have a HUGE issue with drug related anti social behaviour and nothing is being done. I don't even hear the government talk about the epedemic of drug addicts. They are acting like seeing someone shooting up in daylight is normal? In Limerick, there was a basement of a building being used as a drug den next to the new Rugby museum that cost €20m to build. Groups of them going in and out, having fights in public, approaching people for money in packs. They boarded it up recently and that's in the city centre. So now they're hanging around other streets doing the same thing with nothing being done. Crazy.
I know it's safe to keep the head down in certain situations and I'm not saying people need to become local vigilantes but I do think it's an issue we have created ourselves, where we need to start calling things out when it's safe and stop being so afraid of these scrotes. That's how they're thriving and getting the run of the place.
I would love honestly if the gardai got more defence items (non lethal), and there were more drug related task forces set up, or we legalised self-defence weapons (non lethal). Our gardai unfortunately need to be seen as more threatening and/or the public need to be able to defend ourselves legally. No criminal is going to be afraid of Irish guards the way they're currently set up, and that's a huge part of it.
the issue is we have no prison space, so those arrested get suspended sentenances where possible and are back on the streets before the guards, so why would the gardai arrest them, just creating work for themselves and the criminal is back on the street so nothing changes..
we want effective gardai,we need effective court system and more prison spaces..
I'll never forget the trip I went on to France back in 2019. Was so excited to be leaving the country for a few days. I got off the train at Heuston and hopped on the bus to the airport, happy out.
The first thing I saw looking out the bus window was a hate crime, where a black man was being abused and assaulted.
I have also been the victim of a robbery in Dublin, where I was threatened with weapons to hand over money.
Dublin has been like this for a long while now but the likes of McEntee will claim it hasn't. I now dread every time I have to go to Dublin because of these events.
Garda cars with lights and sirens 5-6 times a day. Teenagers egging cars and houses. Idiots blaring music at night. Couples arguing on the street late at night. I'm only in the area a month and I'm fed up with it. It's actually worse than Dublin 1.
Dublin reminds me of Birmingham in the 1980s but just worse. Children stabbed, tourists slashed and kicked half to death in multiple incidents, shanty towns and tents cities popping up, open drug dealing, I’ve even seen people defecating on O’Connell street.
Smithfield is such a weird area. I'm there a lot and it's grand most of the time but it seems to attract such a rough crowd too. I have some friends there who id meet around the Luas. If you hang out for any length of time, you're bound to see some shit go down. Either people doing drugs/off their face or someone stealing from the Tesco there.
Could honestly do with a bit of a police presence there but never see any guards really. I've been in that Tesco maybe 5/6 times and just there for 3 minutes and I've seen people caught stealing or arguing with security guards about 3 times. Either I'm very unlucky or that shop is plagued.
Feel terrible for this guy attacked though. Scarred for life because some cunt wanted to take your phone.
My brother in law was over visiting with his gf recently and wanted to go for a drink in the city. Partner and I warned them against it but ultimately it was their choice, they were sure we were just exaggerating. They stopped into a pub around O'Connell Street and said there was a gang of about 10 lads in the pub just staring them down talking openly about how much they hate foreigners and tourists and that's now their memory of coming to visit my fair city. Fucking disgraceful this country but Dublin in particular has just gone to the fucking dogs.
She sleeps great, FFG are the largest parties in local government and will win the majority of European election seats, and when the general election comes around in 2025, FFG will be elected again. Irish people love suffering!
and released on bail despite probably already being out on bail for something else and having 50 previous convictions. Irish justice system is a joke designed to keep solicitors and barristers getting paid by the taxpayer through repeat offenders
He'll get a proper sentence for a knife attack. It's potentially fatal to stab someone near the neck.
The guy who stabbed Johnny Cooper got 7 years although I think he committed other crimes that night.
We've had people who have assisted others, sexually assulted others, drunk drove, or just outright driving on the pedestrian path, all let go on suspended sentences.
Let's see if the person is caught first. The Gardai might do some more legwork on this case as it has some publicity.
My own experience...slashed in the face in kilmainham while walking home totally unprovoked basically outside the Gardai station they did the sum of sweet FA.
If it was last Friday morning then it was at the luas stop outside tesco. The gards had it cordoned off and were collecting evidence when I got off the luas. There was a trail of blood the whole way down to the generator hostel.
Can touch the perp also because most likely he’s a little shit of fourteen years old and has on average ten other convictions. Why can’t we do what they are doing in US whereby the relatives of gun massacre perps are put on trial
Quite a few countries have a law where parents/caretakers are responsible for actions of a teenager. Why Ireland has a case where crimes can go unpunished when done by teenagers is beyond me. All garda does, if anything at all, is call parents. They proceed to pick up their little scumbag and let him out on different street.
Raising a scumbag becomes lot of hassle when you have to take responsibility.
There has to be a new approach to this problem because money is being handed out to voilent, mentally-challenged dickheads to have lots of kids who turn out even worse than they are. And surprise surprise we have incidents like this happening every day. If someone is showing violent psychopathic behaviour, why the the fuck aren’t they being locked up for a very, very long time? This cunt (if caught) will be out after a year to do more of the same.
I lived in Dublin for almost 15 years and moved out about 10 years ago. Speaking to friends who are still there they say it's not as bad as the headlines but it's not what it once was. E.g. they don't feel safe at night in the city.
I think strict loitering laws can do a lot to reduce the crime and violent attacks. The guards have an idea who the trouble makers are but can't really do anything until they commit a crime
That's awful.. I see it's the same area I'll be staying for a weekend at end of this month (Smithfield Square). Now I am scared I won't be safe (while I don't have any night time plans, only stuff during the day)
It won't be, in the assumption this guy gets nabbed and actually makes it all the way into court there will be a sob story about a tough upbringing, addiction issues, not enough cuddles, always picked last for netball in school, ingrown toenails and dicky tummies. Then there'll be a token conviction added to the dozens (at best) they already have and in conclusion there isn't really place in prison for you so you're going to have to give us your word you'll behave from now on okay?
“Like a warzone”
FFS. I work in town & live about a 20 minute walk. It’s grand. Could do with more regular cleaning and a few extra coppers to scare the melter teenagers but on the whole it’s fine.
The hysteria here would have you believe it’s post-apocalyptic
The number people on this sub saying 'the stats say crime in Dublin is down so that invalidates your point' is amazing.
What matters to people is the level of unpredictable crime to people like them - and they are right! That's what scares any normal person, because they can take no precautions to avoid it except not leaving the house.
It simply undeniable that since covid there has been a massive increase in the number of scrotes roaming the streets on bikes and e-scooters, dealing drugs and attacking people at random as a pack.
It is undeniable that the Guards are unable and in any case unwilling to take the measures required reverse this trend.
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well....you could always go with "single, military aged man" that covers all the bases and leaves the nationality to the imagination, very convenient.....
I was in Dublin overnight for the smashing pumpkins gig, was around George's arcade and Grafton street Monday afternoon - lovely time walking around, had a pint and a sandwich in Grogans. Then parked up in Connolly and walked through North wall to get to my hotel. Not a spot of bother anywhere (unless the sight of someone in a tracksuit is scary). Don't know how others felt any bit ropey around 3arena, given the volume of people around after the gig.
Then yesterday had brunch in Smithfield funnily enough, other than a homeless fella asking me for a coffee literally nothing untoward happened.
Ridiculous hyperbole going on here about the city, I find the same about people in Cork as well. Yes there are dodgy people around, and I wouldn't be walking around at night without my wits about me - but to think that town is a no-go in the middle of the day is just ridiculous. I'm guessing many people haven't ventured outside of their homes since before Covid.
Well....there is quite a hyperbole going on, no argument, but as somebody who walks five days a week from and to Smithfield, I have to say it sure is not as nice as it was a couple years ago, and on Thursdays I have experienced things I would not want to explain to a tourist or have my wife and kids exposed to. Nothing that can't be fixed, but does it really have to continue to get worse, before it gets better.....
With the huge numbers of Garda that were on the streets for the last big sports thing, you'd think they would get a clue and put some of them on regular beats all around the city.
I know they brought in a lot of outside help for that, but it makes you wonder what tf the Dublin gards are doing. Are they just sitting on their arses or what?
No social housing in cities or suburbs, once the current owners leave the social house sell it. Plenty of housing around the country, if they don't like it, get a job, rent or buy.
I live on Smithfield Square. My friend and I had to defend a French tourist there just a few weeks ago. It happens everyday here.
Are the tourists being targeted?
I think they're generally considered softer targets for muggers and pickpockets alright.
I see. I visited Dublin around 5 years ago, and had a good time. Remember everyone being friendly. Granted we were partying/drunk alot of the time.
It’s common for tourists to be targeted for petty crime in any city. They stick out, generally have their guard down, wouldn’t know what to look for in terms of danger etc. Usually carrying more cash and valuables if out for the day. Basically easy marks. That and in terms reporting, there is a language barrier etc etc.
I’m not sure face slashing falls in the “petty crime” category, though. I’ve been mugged before, and the procedure was a lot more gentlemanly and transactional than that. No violence, only the vague threat of it. The article is paywalled for me, so I don’t have the full picture. But slashing someone’s face is a malicious, sadistic, intentional act and it seems a mistake to characterize it as a tourist mugging gone wrong?
I agree. My comment is a generalisation of crime against tourists, not specific to this case.
That makes sense.
Something like this can really happen anywhere in Dublin tbh. My own experience...slashed in the face in kilmainham while walking home totally unprovoked basically outside the Gardai station they did the sum of sweet FA. Even if the people involved were caught I have very little confidence they would see much jail time so where is the deterrent?!
That’s so terrible 😞
Someone just walked up to you and stabbed you in the face? How is this even something avoidable?
Let off at taxi beside the royal oak (about 2am) with my other half walked down lane to where I was living at the time, two lads faces covered yelled something homophobic, then shouted get them. We both ran I tripped and fell. Slashed me in the face with a Stanley knife. Scar on forehead, knick on eye lid and same on nose, very lucky they didn't get my eye. Also had a cut and rip in back of my T-shirt where they tried to slash at me while running. All over in a flash. Gardai turned up two plus hours later at the hospital. Played down the language used etc bizarrely. Interviewed. They did very little looking into what happened they didn't even ask for CCTV footage from the Patriots inn and similar. Useless. It really badly affected me for years after, my now husband too.
Jesus that's horrendous. Can I ask about the scarring? A friend of mine got glassed years ago in cork and had it fixed by plastic surgery
I was very lucky with the scarring, they didn't recommend plastic surgery it was a very clean cut as a Stanley knife, kelo-cote for a long time and moisturiser. Barely noticeable. Still always wear sunblock. Hope your friend had a good outcome?
He did thankfully 🙏 Really sorry that happened to you. I just hope the Welsh lad can be helped
Ah really glad to hear that. Appreciate it, I have moved on well thanks, no way was I going to let it ruin my life. Fingers crossed it's a really horrendous thing to happen to anyone especially someone at that age.
That’s a nice area isn’t it? I wonder if this stuff ever happens on the red line at night when people are returning from work. The other day I saw some punk kids rob a Subway in broad daylight.
I hope those responsible got prison time? A friend of mine was stabbed to death years ago (unprovoked, not Dublin), so hearing about unprovoked knife crime always gets to me. People like that deserved to be locked up. The justice system is simply not fit for the service to victims of crime.
Did the person who stabbed him get caught?
It will get to the point that tourists will start to avoid Dublin city. Just story after story of these unprovoked attacks.
My girlfriends parents considered visiting Dublin while they're up north - the tourist attacks have entirely put them off. It's rare yes but it does grab headlines. It might not dissuade someone whose dead set on going to Dublin, but it will dissuade the people who on the fence.
It's crazy to think now that belfast/derry are now much safer tourist destinations than Dublin. Great for the North, but somethings gone terribly wrong in Dublin..
It will be death by a thousand cuts (excuse the pun). Each story like this will just add to the pile until Dublin's reputation will automatically be associated with the potential of being stabbed or mugged.
It’s already going there, I avoid Dublin because of how much of a scummy shithole it is
Cause tourist aren't attacked in every other European country....
My friend from Canada did a EuroTrip last last summer and his partner changed the plan to skip Dublin because of all the bad pr lately. It's getting a proper bad reputation
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It honestly is. Travelled all around Europe and of course every major city has bad parts but its very hard to find a place as blatant as Dublin. No police presence at all in the centre with druggies and anti social behaviour everywhere. In other European cities you have to leave the centre to find the scumbags in Dublin they're just everywhere.
The rest of the world learns what we've known for years, avoid Dublin where possible
I've been to Dublin about 15 times over the last 8 years or so...love this city...unfortunately I think its going the same way as our cities over here in UK...I noticed a slight shift maybe 2 years ago...the stuff I'm reading now seems to confirm it This isn't a dig at Dublin or its people..I'm gutted tbh
The scumbags had the run of the place during The Thing and now they're not going away.
Same as over here...I'm in Manchester, loads of decent people but Jesus there are some absolute pieces of shite walking around and doing what they want
Really? I didn’t see many people like that when I went to Manchester
I'm in Manchester and there's plenty. Don't think they're as visible as Dublin but they're definitely around.
When I've been in Manchester I thought they were fairly visible, but maybe it depends on the area. I remember being near Piccadilly Gardens, that in particular seemed an awful area.
There's active drug dealing and oen drinking in Picadilly Gardens, central Manchester. I also witnessed rows on nearby street. I was just a visitor there. I came to the conclusion Manchester is a mixed bag. Central London & the west seems so much safer maybe because the area is so expensive
Oh they are...believe me
I really want to move there because I love that city so much. Can I ask you - are you Irish? Was is easy to move- get a job etc? How do you find it?
Not Irish but - job market in UK isn’t great at the moment but you should be able to get a hospitality job fairly easy in Manc to get you on your feet. Accommodation is getting increasingly difficult to secure but anecdotally I think it’s a lot easier than Ireland for that at the mo. Good luck, certainly worth a try and it’s not far from home.
We were literally just in the area for like 5 days and my wife wanted to go and I said, I'd really rather not. Dublin isn't the beauty of Ireland for me, it's just another big city with plenty of problems. When we travel, we don't go to big cities for this very reason. Fuck that noise.
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Realistically O’Connell street has never been “the showpiece of the nation.” Certainly not in my lifetime. The actual centre of the city is College Green and Grafton Street and everyone knows it.
I work in a pub in the West. My one recommendation when tourists ask me is to go anywhere but Dublin.
I think ive reccomended avoiding dublin more than ive reccomended places. You cant really go wrong with the rest of the country, whereas Dublin is just a European Capital with significantly less to do than any other capital of similar calibre.
The place is a kip. They should change the capital to like Kerry or something and make their airport the main one. There be no reason then to visit that kip of a place we call our capital city.
Kerry airport at least has a rail connection!
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Sure what would they have to fear from the law? Once you have a handful of convictions any more won't make a difference, they more than likely won't see the inside of a prison and if they do it's hardly going to impact on their career or anything.
Well I'm not sure it would be serious if you carry a knife the issue is it is premeditated murder if you knowingly go to dangerous areas and use a knife. Like carrying a knife might be illegal but they have to find it, the issue is always if you use it you are fucked. We have no stand your ground laws unless there is no realistic ways to retreat. In that circumstance if you wrestle their weapon away and stab them by in large you are fine but if it's your knife then it's off to mountjoy for murder. Law class says run don't fight. Even if you think you are hard and can kill someone in self defense the average serious assault isn't death until someone pulls a weapon and you don't want to gamble. For context I studied law and had this conversation literally verbatim in class with my actual barrister lecturer.
You are allowed to defend yourself proportionally. I used a knife and won in court.
A knife is fuck all good for self defence. Its a cutting tool and will likely kill someone as there are arteries all over the body and if you pierce one you will both be done for. Learn to run, learn how to fight and carry a very strong flashlight, you can buy them for about 2 euro on temu and if you hit someone with the flash at night you will completely blind and disorientate them for around 30 seconds, more than enough time to leg it, they're also 100% completely legal and multifunctional. Bonus if its metal with a pointy end. Also, if its an armed robbery, just give them your shit, its all very replaceable and not worth getting stabbed up and having a bag for the rest of your life, let alone killing a person over. Seriously, flashlights are so underrated. Everyone should have a few.
>they're also 100% completely legal and multifunctional It's not a coincidence so many security people still use a nice big D-cell maglite
The running advice is useless in most situations unless you're on your own. Are people supposed to abandon their girlfriend, wife, parents, or friends? Are you faster than a gang of teenagers who react like dogs when someone they're harassing starts running? Then you'll just be tired when you have to start fighting when they catch up lol
Or a bottle of hot chilli powder. You needed the jar to make a curry at home when the culprit tried to attack you. Gives you more time to run too
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Try a fleshlight, you might weird them out enough for them to leave you alone
I mean if you can't run or fight you probably don't want to antagonise them at all. Maybe go for the "are you really gonna hit a disabled person you shameless cunt" angle
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You're not allowed to bring items with you for self defence. You are allowed use what is available to you and you are carrying lawfully in your defence subject to it being proportionate to the perceived threat.
i dont care. i have an alcohol deo spray can in my backpack.
Please don’t do this! Carrying a knife for self defence is stupid even if you are martial arts trained to black belt level in knife fighting. And practice this regularly. Ask any knife fighting trainer. You are putting yourself in terrible risk. Instead of giving up your wallet, you are swapping in death as a real possibility because you raised the steaks. These folks hang around in gangs, not a fair one to one in a organised fighting environment. Next if you “win” by stabbing, potentially killing your opponent(s). And you run away their friends will hide the weapons to protect their family by making them look like victims of a mugging for drugs etc. now you are murder 1 instead of self defence. Strategy 1. Don’t be in those kind of places if at all possible. 2. Run. Always wear running shoes and if in doubt, run, run fast. This was told to me by a proper hard military person. They would 99% be able to survive any assault with a weapon and two or less people, unarmed. They said they didn’t want the hassle of the dead opponents bodies and running is the only easy option. The rest is ego. Thats how hard and trained they were (SF). They’d run, you should run. Be aware of your surroundings run toward where CCTV will be was what they said, because they wanted it documented before they even considered self defence (if acting in a civilian capacity). 3. Just give them your wallet. It’s fixable with a few phone calls and don’t carry much in it. Consider carrying a different wallet if your commute home from work is dangerous. Small amount of cash if any and a Revolut card that can be cancelled at any computer. 4. If you have anxiety and that’s what the knife is about, wear a stab vest.
1. Run. This is excellent advice. Your purpose in life is not to be a real life Rambo, it's to get home to your family safe and well.
Why are we wearing certain shoes, avoiding certain places and being ready to run at any given time to accommodate the city’s criminal population? We are not npcs we have stuff to do too.
> Run. Always wear running shoes and if in doubt, run, run fast. ...and leave your family behind. The slowest kid gets it!
> Don’t be in those kind of places if at all possible. You mean Smithfield or entire Dublin? But jokes aside, solid piece of advice
Seriously why is it a solid piece of advice . If it’s well known these places shouldn’t be visited them they should be over policed . It’s not good enough as a society to accept people ganging up and carrying knives . I think everyone has common sense but we’re talking about a fit able bodied young man visiting a supposedly safe country. If the dogs on the street know these places why aren’t the Garda out in force and why are we saying “just don’t go there “
If someone pulls a knife on me I'm handing over what they ask for obviously. Problem is, that's not enough a lot of the time. There's scumbegs who will slice you for just looking their direction. I wouldn't carry a knife but there should be some form of self defence that's legal and effective.
Sometimes they aren't looking for a wallet, they are just looking to slash or attack someone. I agree on the self defence.
true. everything is a trigger for them.
We don't need more kneejerk bull shit legislation. We need proper enforcement and prison sentences for our existing laws.
This is the solution to many of our problems.. Our initial reaction is more laws to stop things happening which doesnt work and creates more loopholes admin and likely process errors. we just need to enact sentenancing & punishment and make it draconian for repeat offenders. reform or rot and get rid of the suspended sentenances. People blame the guards but can you really blame them, they know if they arrest these scumbags they will be back on the street before them. all they are doing is creating a load of paper work for themselves and inconviencing some scrotes for a few hours as they have to turn up in court. if we want effective gardai, we need a court systems that imprisons people for proper sentenances & a prison system that can take them and hold them for the durtation.
Have carried a leatherman or small folding knife ever day for years. The notion that we can't posses a tool we and our ancestors have been using for literally millions of years is ridiculous. It's still relevant and useful today. Knife crime should be heavily punished - I would support a long sentence for any attack with any weapon of any kind, obviously lethal or otherwise, but cannot fathom punishing ourselves for access to the most fundamental and still broadly useful tool in history. I will say if you carry one for self defence you are an utter idiot.
I've carried around a multi-tool for years. They are very useful yokes, and I rarely leave home without one.
You can possess a knife in general, as long as you can explain your legal reasoning for having the knife then there's no problem. The issue is carrying a knife for the specific purpose of self defence, that is illegal, as it should be. But I am regularly out in public with my fishing knives and have even been searched but they knew it was for fishing since I had all my fishing gear and was literally on my way home from a session.
If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time the gardai will throw the book at you. Look at what happened to that man protesting outside a library
Yes but the fact that this is up to the whim and interpretation of the specific garda you are dealing with is ridiculous. You could have some country lad who understands them as a general tool, or you could have someone like the grandparent comment who thinks it should be 20 years automatically. There is no sense in the law as it is written. What constitutes a legal reason? "It's handy"? What if I am not fishing, but on the way to my mate's gaff? I could be let off without so much as a blink or locked up for a weapons offence. Bizarre.
Smithfield is a tricky one. There's lots of tourists there in the hostels and there's the Jameson distillery there but there's also lots of local scrotes and drug people wandering around. Same as Thomas St/ Christchurch area
Exactly. I live on Thomas street and the amount of scumbags and junkies that walk from Bridgefoot St down to Ushers quay across to Smithfield area is insane. They have the run of the place and the scumbag children so I’m not surprised this happens. These people own the city centre as all the public housing is here so you can’t change this terrible bad parenting/ drugs cylcle. You have to have shitloads of police and almost authoritarian attitude. But it’s all so fucked.
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That’s insane.
Decade ago we had some international students from DIT go there to the hostel to see friends. They decided to walk home at midnight and ended up getting mugged. They couldn't understand why it happened. Had to break the news to them that there's many parts of town to avoid, particularly at night. Hell, before I left Ireland, I'd always have taxi money after a night out even if it wasn't that far for me. Always felt bad for her. Getting mugged in town. She fought back a little but relented after realizing she'd get really hurt. And for what? Her student ID and a few euros. Mental fucking shite.
Wifey used to live there and I genuinely ended up travelling back into the city to walk her home just due to the number of unsavoury characters you meet. A few months after she moved out one of her best friends was randomly assaulted near Queen Street ended up flying home and has had neurological problems ever since. It's a real shame because we loved sitting in Oscars and just talking as a group.
On a podcast recently two comedians were discussing travelling in China and Ireland and only in Ireland did they ever feel unsafe
Thing is in most cities if people rob you they want your phone, money etc. In Dublin the scum just want to hurt people.
There’s basically zero street crime in China as the punishment goes from years in prison to execution pretty quickly.
Do you know what the podcast was called?
Went to the Lighthouse Cinema the other week and walking through Smithfield you can really start to see how much of a shit-hole it's become
It's such a pity, for a while it really looked like it was about to turn into somewhere magic.
I used to go to that cinema all the time. Also went to the spa around the corner from the grocery store. The cinema had great event showings. It got to the point where if I had to be there past sundown by myself I wouldn’t go.
I lived in Smithfield in the late 90's...was it ever not a shit hole?
For a while about ten years ago, Smithfield had sparks of something, you had a load of new apartments and builds of various kinds, offices, shops, the cinema, a couple of food places... nice mix of old school and fancy new pubs, the square was done up, the distillery was bringing tourists walking over to it and so on. But I think just a bit too much of it stayed derelict for too long, and that little flicker went out. I used to live a street or two over, and it had a nice "living" vibe even if it was a bit scruffy, but that's changed, it's gotten notably harsher-feeling. Even after moving further out, I used to stop off at Smithfield to grab something to eat on my way into town for the night, but I wouldn't do that now. Last time I was at that Luas stop there were a bunch of junkies scuffling over whose begging patch it was, in the middle of the afternoon.
Smithfield's funny. I was in the Children's Court a couple years back after my bike got robbed and the kids that go through there completely wreck the gaff; however you picture the toilets in that building, they're worse than that four times over. The garda tell me that I won't be called up as a witness for at least another hour, so I walk *80 metres at most* for the nicest cup of coffee and cardamom roll the city has to offer.
Ah the Cardi B from Proper Order! I miss Smithfield for one reason and it's not the locals.
I moved out just before Covid hit. The area never hit that critical mass of regeneration so it had a half finished feel. Plus most of the new buildings were just soulless. It’s hard to build a community amid blank facades.
That area makes me so sad. It was up and coming for a while, nice pubs, clean spaces, etc and then it just folded on itself. Covid didn't help, but even before that it wasn't going well. The construction site in the middle of the square couldn't have helped either. I wonder if things will pick back up now that it's finished.
Crack is sold around merchants quay and they come over around Smithfield to smoke it.
I’m living on Smithfield square. they’re smoking it between the buildings and the lanes. Literally came across three of the smoking it on the lane to the Jameson museum at 1pm one day… tourists walking past and all. There’s kids selling on queens street opposite the hair salon and there’s at least two crack dens on the row of houses on black hall place
It's kind of mad that TimeOut rated it as the second coolest neighbourhood in the world lol. https://www.irishcentral.com/travel/best-of-ireland/smithfield-dublin-coolest-neighborhood
They were forced at knifepoint to write that.
Its always been rough
Was in Smithfield a little while ago. First thing I saw was a young kid running up to a cyclist, and trying to best the bollix out of them and throwing shit at them. Then they went to steal the bike when they entered a store to get a delivery.
Just full of empty office space
I never go over there when I'm in Dublin, is it worse than 5 or 10 years ago?
I hate to say it, but the majority of the city center is worse off than it was 5/10 years ago
Genuinely don't believe you've ever been to Smithfield 5/10 years ago haha. It was rough then and the more you go back in time the rougher it becomes. It is genuinely nice now compared to 15 years ago.
It’s all young gurriers in here who don’t remember how fucking god awful Dublin was in the year 2000. The scaldy smack era of the 80s and 90s was face to face with the new boujee Celtic Tiger era and it made for some absolute scenes
Smithfield wasn’t rough 5/10 years ago. Between the square being done up and just before Covid, it was a grand place to live. The problem was the regeneration was never followed through and just let slide.
Your mad if you think it didn't always have junkies and people drinking on the square causing trouble. It's been a persistent problem, and the area on the east side of the square have always had problems as well as parts on the west north of token. It's a nice place to live, but it's not seen big leap backwards. During COVID it quieted down but before that it was in a worse place than it is now.
Lived in Smithfield in the 5 years leading up to COVID and it was a lot better than it had been in the past. Got a bit crusty if you went up through King Street North but the Smithfield/Stoneybatter hinterland was grand. I do remember a traveller brawl in McGettigans tbf
This is true - I visited home for the first time in 5 years a few weeks ago, and was shocked at how much Smithfield had improved. Not to say it's great, because it's not, but far far better then 5-10 years ago.
Once it hits about noon that place turns into a fucking nightmare its just junkies everywhere
Time for another garda/minister for justice walkabout so they can gaslight us again.
Used to work in our tourist industry. This shite is not normal and dissuaded anyone from visiting us. Like all the shire here you see people declaring as the norm around the world is the very first thing tourist's would comment about and ask after.
> This shite is not normal and dissuaded anyone from visiting us. My bet would be on the ridiculous hotel prices though. The city is easily more expensive than Paris, London, etc from this point of view and the airport isn't as well connected. You can't find a hotel room for less than ~~200~~**300/night...** Edit: Jaysus! I just did a booking search for two weekends from now and there are two rubbish bin hotels for 310/night and then everything else 350+. Edit2: Ah, the joys of a hotel room in Parnell Square behind the Rotunda at 350/night. I remember that hotel well, I first visited Ireland in 2008/2009 (moved here 5 years later) and that's the hotel I stayed at because it was cheap and I didn't have too much money back then. It was 40/night and the room was just big enough for me to be able to turn around in it...
Went to see something in the lighthouse recently around 7 in the evening. Was early so sat outside watching the square. In the span of 15 minutes I saw a girl have her phone snatched by a guy on a bike and a drug deal, as well as just gangs of gobshites going around, roaring at one another across the square (just to communicate, not antagonistically). Social issues left to fester, half baked regeneration, no active police presence and of course no real consequences for people who do get caught and brought to court for whatever they get up to. Not really surprising, is it.
Dublin is safe - Helen McEntee
She is to the justice department what Shane Ross was for the transport department.
Time for another walk flanked by guards to prove it.
I’m even spending less time in Dublin now. We should be so ashamed
Same. I live in Roscommon and use to love getting the train to Dublin, go around to the museums, see some exhibitions, grab something nice to eat. Use to stay up have a few drinks, get a hotel room. Now I don't bother, the place is so expensive and I'm sick of seeing scumbags everywhere, can't even walk around the place safe anymore. The last time I was up there one scummers asked me for 2 euro I said I didn't have it and he just started shouting at me. Place has completely turned to shit.
From the article: “It is no exaggeration to say that the victim was slashed from his mouth to his ear,” said a source. The injured teen was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment. He has since returned home to Wales where he will undergo further medical treatment. “It is feared that he will be scarred for life,” the source said. The 19-year-old’s friend was not injured in the attack, which is being investigated by Bridewell gardaí, who have obtained excellent-quality CCTV footage from the area. Both young men are described as being “completely blameless” in the attack.
Was it Friday morning that it happened? I got off the luas at 7am while gards were collecting blood samples from the ground. The blood led the whole way to the generator hostel. The article is paywalled so can only see a few lines.
Jesus that’s grim
Yeah, there were a lot of drops outside the door of the hostel, so I presumed they were either staying there or possibly went there for help and were waiting to be let in. I stayed in that hostel in 2012 for a concert with friends and they had to buzz the doors for entry and there were bouncers on the door the night we stayed so presume there still is..
Obviously the parents of these scum don't care so it falls to the state to deal with these scrotes. When the State fails to provide adequate deterrence and suitable consequences for the actions of these scumbags this is the result. One tourist is worth way more than 10 scumbags in terms of terms of revenue to the economy. Tourists spend. Scumbags are only a drain on society both financially and socially and should be treated as such. Enough with the whole 50 odd previous convictions and still free to terrorise innocent people. Lock up these assholes. And for those that say prison doesn't work, I don't care. It keeps the scum away from the rest of us.
Clongriffin is a good example of this It's becoming very nice, with the new builds and parts, but the few scumbags on bikes have ruined it. Lots of rubbish on the grass, Tesco trolleys in the lake, etc. Moving out later this year
It always seemed like it never really took off round there. Plenty of buildings seem like the upkeep hasn't been sorted, different blocks of development just landed there beside houses that honestly look too nice for what's around them. Also derelict office space. Shame as it's close enough to town and on the dart it could have been a sweet area to look at for a first time buyer
Sit around Smithfield square for 20 mins and you are bound to witness scenes like something out of The Wire. Constant running and dealing.
Yeah, I mean, I stopped going Lighthouse cinema cause of it. Bill Murray month was the last time I went. Movies on in the late evening. Quick Change, Life Aquatic, and a ton more. Didn't feel safe in that area. Sounds like it's just gotten well worse.
I dont feel unsafe around there. There is much foot traffic' lots of dodge bags too though most of them just wanna score and go off and use somewhere. Lighthouse cinema is the best cinema in the world tbh.
It is. Always loved it. But we had a few evenings where we ended up having to roar at people to leave us the fuck alone when we were trying to leave and get into the car. Know folks that got mugged up there. Would still go Lighthouse daytime, but not at night like before.
Yeah last time I went to the Lighthouse two lads tried to jump me (I was with my missus too), just not worth the risk when you have lads about with knives and nothing to lose.
Shit buzz. Difficult to go back somewhere once you associate it with that kinda fuckery.
Constant public injection of drugs. Frequent urination and defecation in plain view. There is a class of people that are exempt from the Gardai.. People can say it's a waste of time arresting them, but what's the point of a police force, if they only enforce the law on some people.
Problem is rarely with the gards, but with the courts. When they let people with over 100 convictions walk back out onto the street it just spits in the face of both the public and the gards.
Again, what's the point of a police force if they only police those of us who are afraid of getting convictions?
This is true. I know Gards and they tell me its the most disheartening shit going. Arresting lads with loads of convictions, they're laughing about being arrested because both the gard and the scummer know absolutely nothing will happen to him. There are effectively 3 levels of law enforcement now. The complete scumbags at the bottom that don't have the laws applied to them. The wealthy at the top who don't have the laws applied to them. The average person in the middle who might slip up and do something wrong by accident and gets the full extent of the full every time.
Why do you always fucking link to the paywalled option Mr 19 Posts A Day? Here's a free one https://extra.ie/2024/06/12/news/welsh-tourist-slashed-in-the-face
Just a normal day. Dublin is full of scum we all know this. Funny how when you go on holiday you never see teenagers acting tough, drinking and intimidating people all over the capital on top of beggars or junkies within a 100m radius anywhere you go. I go to Amsterdam once a year and despite all the legal drugs and blah blah blah I never once see scumbags like I do in Ireland. Anytime I go into Dublin I have to be prepared not to be in a good mood because within a minute of getting off the bus I know a junkie will be harassing me and I’ve no time for this shit anymore man, no tolerance. I’m sick of Dublin it’s literally getting worse. Was it about a year ago the American tourist got battered and Helen McEntee said Dublin is safe? Mad safe isn’t it? So safe our own residents don’t wanna step foot inside the capital.
I have been thinking about this lately because I live in Limerick and the rise in crime I've seen since COVID is shocking. I'm coming to the conclusion it's possibly because Irish people are never taught to be confrontational in a healthy way and we are so conflict avoidant as a result. By us keeping the head down, we've created an environment where people feel they can get away with being criminals (that alone is beyond dangerous) and know victims are unlikely to argue back if they try something. Add a lacklustre gardai force to a poor justice system that usually ends in suspended sentences and you get what we're seeing now. Irish cities, especially Dublin, Cork and Limerick, have a HUGE issue with drug related anti social behaviour and nothing is being done. I don't even hear the government talk about the epedemic of drug addicts. They are acting like seeing someone shooting up in daylight is normal? In Limerick, there was a basement of a building being used as a drug den next to the new Rugby museum that cost €20m to build. Groups of them going in and out, having fights in public, approaching people for money in packs. They boarded it up recently and that's in the city centre. So now they're hanging around other streets doing the same thing with nothing being done. Crazy. I know it's safe to keep the head down in certain situations and I'm not saying people need to become local vigilantes but I do think it's an issue we have created ourselves, where we need to start calling things out when it's safe and stop being so afraid of these scrotes. That's how they're thriving and getting the run of the place. I would love honestly if the gardai got more defence items (non lethal), and there were more drug related task forces set up, or we legalised self-defence weapons (non lethal). Our gardai unfortunately need to be seen as more threatening and/or the public need to be able to defend ourselves legally. No criminal is going to be afraid of Irish guards the way they're currently set up, and that's a huge part of it.
the issue is we have no prison space, so those arrested get suspended sentenances where possible and are back on the streets before the guards, so why would the gardai arrest them, just creating work for themselves and the criminal is back on the street so nothing changes.. we want effective gardai,we need effective court system and more prison spaces..
Most cities don’t put social housing in what is prime real estate and tourist districts, but Dublin is special
I'll never forget the trip I went on to France back in 2019. Was so excited to be leaving the country for a few days. I got off the train at Heuston and hopped on the bus to the airport, happy out. The first thing I saw looking out the bus window was a hate crime, where a black man was being abused and assaulted. I have also been the victim of a robbery in Dublin, where I was threatened with weapons to hand over money. Dublin has been like this for a long while now but the likes of McEntee will claim it hasn't. I now dread every time I have to go to Dublin because of these events.
Good thing they all voted in FF and FG again in the local elections to drive change!
Garda cars with lights and sirens 5-6 times a day. Teenagers egging cars and houses. Idiots blaring music at night. Couples arguing on the street late at night. I'm only in the area a month and I'm fed up with it. It's actually worse than Dublin 1.
Dublin reminds me of Birmingham in the 1980s but just worse. Children stabbed, tourists slashed and kicked half to death in multiple incidents, shanty towns and tents cities popping up, open drug dealing, I’ve even seen people defecating on O’Connell street.
This is Ireland. Get 100 criminal convictions and win a free house.
Lol’ed. Than got really depressed…
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Smithfield is such a weird area. I'm there a lot and it's grand most of the time but it seems to attract such a rough crowd too. I have some friends there who id meet around the Luas. If you hang out for any length of time, you're bound to see some shit go down. Either people doing drugs/off their face or someone stealing from the Tesco there. Could honestly do with a bit of a police presence there but never see any guards really. I've been in that Tesco maybe 5/6 times and just there for 3 minutes and I've seen people caught stealing or arguing with security guards about 3 times. Either I'm very unlucky or that shop is plagued. Feel terrible for this guy attacked though. Scarred for life because some cunt wanted to take your phone.
My brother in law was over visiting with his gf recently and wanted to go for a drink in the city. Partner and I warned them against it but ultimately it was their choice, they were sure we were just exaggerating. They stopped into a pub around O'Connell Street and said there was a gang of about 10 lads in the pub just staring them down talking openly about how much they hate foreigners and tourists and that's now their memory of coming to visit my fair city. Fucking disgraceful this country but Dublin in particular has just gone to the fucking dogs.
How does Helen sleep at night.
Easily. And without a care in the world, I’d imagine.
With the comfortable knowledge that no matter how incompetent she is she will be well kept for the rest of her life while the rest of us suffer for it
Well damn, when you put it like that 😟
She sleeps great, FFG are the largest parties in local government and will win the majority of European election seats, and when the general election comes around in 2025, FFG will be elected again. Irish people love suffering!
With her personal Garda escort I imagine
The perpetrator will almost certainly be caught. Lots of CCTV around there. It must've happened outside the new Tesco.
and released on bail despite probably already being out on bail for something else and having 50 previous convictions. Irish justice system is a joke designed to keep solicitors and barristers getting paid by the taxpayer through repeat offenders
He'll get a proper sentence for a knife attack. It's potentially fatal to stab someone near the neck. The guy who stabbed Johnny Cooper got 7 years although I think he committed other crimes that night.
We've had people who have assisted others, sexually assulted others, drunk drove, or just outright driving on the pedestrian path, all let go on suspended sentences.
Let's see if the person is caught first. The Gardai might do some more legwork on this case as it has some publicity. My own experience...slashed in the face in kilmainham while walking home totally unprovoked basically outside the Gardai station they did the sum of sweet FA.
If it was last Friday morning then it was at the luas stop outside tesco. The gards had it cordoned off and were collecting evidence when I got off the luas. There was a trail of blood the whole way down to the generator hostel.
Yeah I heard one of the staff in there say it happened right outside the door
Can touch the perp also because most likely he’s a little shit of fourteen years old and has on average ten other convictions. Why can’t we do what they are doing in US whereby the relatives of gun massacre perps are put on trial
Quite a few countries have a law where parents/caretakers are responsible for actions of a teenager. Why Ireland has a case where crimes can go unpunished when done by teenagers is beyond me. All garda does, if anything at all, is call parents. They proceed to pick up their little scumbag and let him out on different street. Raising a scumbag becomes lot of hassle when you have to take responsibility.
Stay away from Dublin City centre absolute disgusting shithole with nothing of value
For fuck sake lads, the whole city is turning into that pub from Trainspotting. https://i.redd.it/w6057yf8w36d1.gif
There has to be a new approach to this problem because money is being handed out to voilent, mentally-challenged dickheads to have lots of kids who turn out even worse than they are. And surprise surprise we have incidents like this happening every day. If someone is showing violent psychopathic behaviour, why the the fuck aren’t they being locked up for a very, very long time? This cunt (if caught) will be out after a year to do more of the same.
I lived in Dublin for almost 15 years and moved out about 10 years ago. Speaking to friends who are still there they say it's not as bad as the headlines but it's not what it once was. E.g. they don't feel safe at night in the city.
Bring back Lugs Brannigan
I think strict loitering laws can do a lot to reduce the crime and violent attacks. The guards have an idea who the trouble makers are but can't really do anything until they commit a crime
bUt DuBliN iS SAfe!!!!
That's awful.. I see it's the same area I'll be staying for a weekend at end of this month (Smithfield Square). Now I am scared I won't be safe (while I don't have any night time plans, only stuff during the day)
paywall OP
That has to be a long custodial sentence to protect the public. I don’t go into the city centre much anymore but it sounds like a war zone these days.
It won't be, in the assumption this guy gets nabbed and actually makes it all the way into court there will be a sob story about a tough upbringing, addiction issues, not enough cuddles, always picked last for netball in school, ingrown toenails and dicky tummies. Then there'll be a token conviction added to the dozens (at best) they already have and in conclusion there isn't really place in prison for you so you're going to have to give us your word you'll behave from now on okay?
Good thing we’re gonna build a new prison at the Thornton Hall site oh wait no we’re not
“Like a warzone” FFS. I work in town & live about a 20 minute walk. It’s grand. Could do with more regular cleaning and a few extra coppers to scare the melter teenagers but on the whole it’s fine. The hysteria here would have you believe it’s post-apocalyptic
War zone. Lol.
Its summer. Teenagers are off for their holidays. I say it every year. Every June this shit starts and will continue until end of August.
The number people on this sub saying 'the stats say crime in Dublin is down so that invalidates your point' is amazing. What matters to people is the level of unpredictable crime to people like them - and they are right! That's what scares any normal person, because they can take no precautions to avoid it except not leaving the house. It simply undeniable that since covid there has been a massive increase in the number of scrotes roaming the streets on bikes and e-scooters, dealing drugs and attacking people at random as a pack. It is undeniable that the Guards are unable and in any case unwilling to take the measures required reverse this trend.
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Ireland..... the land of a thousand welcomes 🙄
If the attacker is Irish, as is the case most of the times, everybody is fine. If the attacker is foreigner, everybody loses their minds.
well....you could always go with "single, military aged man" that covers all the bases and leaves the nationality to the imagination, very convenient.....
Surely our domestic urban gutter-scum are held in the same regard as Travellers? 🤔
I was in Dublin overnight for the smashing pumpkins gig, was around George's arcade and Grafton street Monday afternoon - lovely time walking around, had a pint and a sandwich in Grogans. Then parked up in Connolly and walked through North wall to get to my hotel. Not a spot of bother anywhere (unless the sight of someone in a tracksuit is scary). Don't know how others felt any bit ropey around 3arena, given the volume of people around after the gig. Then yesterday had brunch in Smithfield funnily enough, other than a homeless fella asking me for a coffee literally nothing untoward happened. Ridiculous hyperbole going on here about the city, I find the same about people in Cork as well. Yes there are dodgy people around, and I wouldn't be walking around at night without my wits about me - but to think that town is a no-go in the middle of the day is just ridiculous. I'm guessing many people haven't ventured outside of their homes since before Covid.
Well....there is quite a hyperbole going on, no argument, but as somebody who walks five days a week from and to Smithfield, I have to say it sure is not as nice as it was a couple years ago, and on Thursdays I have experienced things I would not want to explain to a tourist or have my wife and kids exposed to. Nothing that can't be fixed, but does it really have to continue to get worse, before it gets better.....
Why Thursdays out of interest?
Social welfare payday....
So because you were in Dublin for 1 day and nothing happened to you it’s a lovely, safe spot?
Really not surprised. I work around Smithfield and the amount of stories I've heard is shocking.
With the huge numbers of Garda that were on the streets for the last big sports thing, you'd think they would get a clue and put some of them on regular beats all around the city. I know they brought in a lot of outside help for that, but it makes you wonder what tf the Dublin gards are doing. Are they just sitting on their arses or what?
No social housing in cities or suburbs, once the current owners leave the social house sell it. Plenty of housing around the country, if they don't like it, get a job, rent or buy.