A teenager has been arrested in connection with the assault of three English tourists in Temple Bar on Friday night.
The three men, who are all aged in their 20s, were taken to St. James' Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries following an assault on Fownes Street Upper shortly after 10 pm, on Friday, Aug 11, 2023.
All three men have since been released from the hospital.
A teenager has been arrested in connection with the assault and robbery of the three tourists and is currently being detained in a Garda Station in Dublin under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. The teenager is due to appear before the Children's Court on Monday morning.
The three victims were part of amateur English soccer club St. John’s Sports from Aylesbury in England, who had traveled to Dublin to play a pre-season friendly against St. Kevin's FC in Whitehall.
The match, which was due to take place on Saturday afternoon, was postponed as a result of Friday night's assault.
St. Kevin's chairman Michael O'Callaghan described the assault as an "appalling situation" that is "hard to believe".
"Now we will be telling people to be careful not to into Temple Bar. It is terrible, but you have to be sensible. […] It is an appalling reflection of our society," O'Callaghan told the Irish Times.
#WATCH Three English tourists who were attacked in Dublin's Temple Bar have been released from hospital and have returned home
The men aged in their 20s had travelled here with their football club@Hanelizaa reports ⤵️#VMNews | @loreillysf | @stkevinsfc pic.twitter.com/ZWN9IPZ9c5
— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) August 13, 2023
Neil Fox, a spokesperson for St. Kevin's, condemned the attack as "totally disgraceful".
He told RTÉ News that St. Kevin's invited the English team to visit their grounds even though the friendly was canceled. Fox added that St. Kevin's later brought them to a local pub to "show them that Ireland is a great place and what happened to them was absolutely disgraceful but it is not all like that".
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses of Friday night's assault to come forward. Investigations remain ongoing.
Friday's assault came less than a month after US tourist Stephen Termini suffered life-changing injuries after being attacked by a group of youths on Talbot Street on July 19.
Termini's sister Michelle revealed on GoFundMe that her brother may lose an eye as a result of last month's attack. Three teenage boys have been arrested in connection with last month's assault.