Gardaí are investigating an attack in Dublin at the weekend during which a teenager was set upon and beaten by a gang who were trying to steal his bike.
The victim, 19-year-old Ciaran Kennedy, is the son of RTÉ News anchor Ray Kennedy and the attack has garnered significant media attention today.
“I confirm my son was attacked on
Friday night,” Mr Kennedy said on Twitter, sharing the front page from The Star
newspaper today featuring the story of the attack.
“He was cycling home after work.
He’s strong - knows self defence. Five thugs outnumbered him, punched him,
broke his nose - black eyes and cuts.
“I can’t thank those who came to
his aid enough. Without them, who knows? He’s on the mend now.”
The attack is the
latest incident in Dublin in which cyclists have been stopped and beaten by
gangs and their bikes stolen from them.
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While these incidents have occurred across the county in recent years, the attack on Ciaran Kennedy occurred on Swords Road in north Dublin.
He was attacked just after midnight on Friday, into Saturday morning, when the 19-year-old was cycling home from his part-time job with Ryanair at Dublin Airport.
The engineering
student was attacked by five men, who managed to steal his bike until
passers-by pulled in and came to Mr Kennedy’s aid, retrieving the bike.
Two men passing in a car stopped and got the bike back from the attackers while a woman stopped and checked on Mr Kennedy. That woman also called gardai and Ciaran Kennedy’s father, Ray, to alert them to what had happened.
The victim was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment and must now undergo an operation to straighten his broken nose.
Ciaran Kennedy's grandfather, Ray Kennedy Snr, was a racing cyclist in his younger days who rode Rás Tailteann. He then went on to become an announcer on the race and the expression 'Men of the Rás' was made popular in his commentary from stage ends.
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