A man has been charged by Gardaí over a daylight “machete” attack in Dublin city centre on Wednesday. It follows the hospitalisation of one man, who sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries during the attack, which took place on Talbot Street.
The attack, which unfolded in broad daylight at around 4.30pm, happened in the same area where an American tourist suffered serious injuries last year in a vicious attack that left him in a coma.
Footage shared across X captured two groups of men, who appear to be armed, running after each other across the street during an altercation.
In a video shared to social media, members of the public can be seen going about their business, while screams and shouts are heard during the incident. The men were then seen fleeing the incident.
Gardaí today said in a statement that they have arrested two men in relation to a public order and assault incident which occurred on Talbot Street, Dublin 1 on Wednesday afternoon 13th March, 2024.
“One man, aged in his 20s was removed from the scene to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries,” they said.
“Two men, aged in their 20s were arrested at the scene and were detained under Section 4, Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in the city centre.
“One man has since been charged and was due to appear before Criminal Courts of Justice this morning Thursday 14th March, 2024. The second man was released without charge and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Violence in the city centre has been an ongoing concern, sparking calls for concrete action to tackle law and order across the city. Worries about the safety of the city centre became heightened last July, when US tourist Stephen Termini was severely injured after being assaulted on Talbot Street as he returned to his accommodation.
As recently as January, a man was hospitalised in a serious condition in an apparent machete attack in the city centre, leaving him requiring 50 stitches.The attack, which took place at around 4.20pm in the afternoon in Eden Quay, happened close to a laneway which was recently closed off to the public due to concerns over anti-social behaviour.
While the government has vowed to get tough on crime in the city centre, multiple serious incidents have taken place in the area, including one just weeks after the attack on Mr Termini. In August, a man was hospitalised after being slashed in the face in an incident on Talbot Street in Dublin 1.
Incidents since have included a stabbing which took place on Talbot Street in November, with a long blade amongst the weapons used in the attack. A man also appeared in court last September accused of smashing a bottle over another man’s head and brandishing the broken glass at a woman who tried to intervene.
A machete attack in November saw Talbot Street left drenched in blood, when a man was attacked by a group of thugs, with one man attacking him with the huge blade, while another repeatedly punched him in the head. The victim in his thirties was hospitalised, while an independent councillor was among those to blast an apparent lack of policing in the area in the wake of the attack.
Politicians from across the political spectrum have referred to incidents which have taken place in the city, including Gary Gannon TD, who referred to a previous attack in Talbot Street last November.
“On Sunday evening, a man was hacked to bits on Talbot Street. It was just across the road from where the Minister had her much-vaunted publicity stunt with the Commissioner during the summer to prove that those streets are safe,” he told Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. “Does she [Helen McEntee] know where that man lay as he was hacked with a machete on Sunday? He lay outside the office of the community policing safety partnership the Minister talked about.
“What we have is a lawlessness and a lack of control in the city. These are my constituents. It is the residents of the north inner city who are finding themselves at the coal face of this.”
Wednesday’s incident follows the closure of one back street in the city centre in January, due to persistent drug use and anti-social behaviour which Dublin City Council said it was unable to control.
Harbour Street, which runs between Marlborough Street and Eden Quay, had been used as a pedestrian link from the Quays to Abbey Street, but councillors agreed that the lane should be closed – after this was requested by local businesses for over a decade.
“It’s not safe for men, women, or children,” Independent Councillor Christy Burke said at the time, adding it was a place for gangs and groups to congregate.
Director Of Services of Dublin City Council Karl Mitchell said in January that the issue had become “untenable” for businesses whose premises back onto the laneway.