Extra gardaí for Cork city centre following assault in broad daylight

Extra gardaí will be deployed to police certain “hotspots” in Cork City centre at weekends.

The pledge came yesterday in the wake of a vicious daytime assault on a homeless man on a busy pedestrian street on Saturday in front of dozens of horrified shoppers.

The man was kicked and beaten on Winthrop St at around 4.30pm.

He has since been released from hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

Two juveniles arrested in connection with the incident a short time later were subsequently released without charge. Gardaí are now preparing files for the DPP in relation to the matter.

The assault prompted calls from business leaders for an increased Garda presence in the city centre at weekends, and for a crackdown on gangs gathering in certain areas.

Supt Barry McPolin described Saturday’s assault as a “dreadful incident” and said gardaí are treating the matter very seriously.

However, he told 96FM’s Opinion Line that daytime assaults in the city centre are very rare.

“It was an exceptional incident,” said Supt McPolin. “Daytime assaults are very few and far between.

“Over the past 14 months, there have been six assaults reported on Winthrop St — five of those were nighttime. The only assault in the daytime was on Saturday.”

He said the incident was seen on Garda CCTV and gardaí were on the scene within minutes, and there were early arrests.

He said more gardaí would be welcome but stressed there cannot be a garda on every street corner.

“We have to make the best use of what we have,” said Supt McPolin. “We review our tactical arrangements on a daily and weekly basis and we allocate our resources to hotspots, and Winthrop St will be targeted going forward on Saturdays.”

However, he insisted most young people who gather in the city centre at weekends do not cause trouble.

“It’s a small minority that cause us difficulty,” he said.

Gardaí said members of the gang will be interviewed soon.

“Our job is to gather best evidence,” Supt McPolin said. “It’s up to the DPP to decide what charges, if any, are preferred, and it’s up to the courts how best to deal with the parties concerned.”