NUIG lecturer speaks out against harassment on the beach

Dr Sheila Garrity, a NUI Galway lecturer, is speaking out against the harassment she and two other women faced on Silverstrand beach. 

A lecturer from NUI Galway has spoken out about the harassment she and two young women experienced on Silverstrand beach in Galway.

Gardaí are investigating the incident, in which an older man was spotted staring intently at some younger women while they were changing. He is also reported to have abused a third woman, Dr Sheila Garrity, when she confronted him about the incident.

Dr Garrity was at the beach for her daily swim when she spotted an older man staring at two young woman, aged in their 20s, while they were changing. 

She said she got really angry at the man and asked him to stop staring, adding, "Maybe you could stop watching the young women changing and look straight ahead."

He turned away momentarily, saying nothing to Dr Garrity, but then turned back and stared at the two young women even more intently. 

"It was like he was saying 'you can't stop me'," Dr Garrity said.

She said to him that the swimming community do their best to change modestly and mind their own business, and again asked him to stop watching the girls.

At this stage, the two young women gathered their belongings and left quickly, heading towards their car. 

"When I said it the first time, the girls stopped chatting, I don't think they realised," Dr Garrity said. 

"They were just there, enjoying a public space, and he took that away from them and me."

Dr Garrity then moved to the upper bench, and the man followed her, getting right up behind her and saying into her ear, 'what are you, a fucking cop?'

While she was putting on her shoes, and repeated the question, and she explained that she was just a concerned citizen.

"Then he said he wouldn't look at me changing, because I was a fat fucking c**t. I said, 'so you were looking at the girls changing'."

The man then mooned her. 

He took off in the direction of the road, but every time she looked up, he was walking very slowly and waving at her. 

She called her partner to pick her up. 

"I felt intimidated. I had to go up that road too."

Dr Garrity approached the two girls, who were still in their car, to make sure they were alright after the incident. They thanked her for intervening, and offered her a lift home in order to avoid the man on the road.

She reported the incident to the gardaí. 

"It was more about alerting the guards, it could be happening elsewhere," she explained.

"The garda accepted it was a criminal offence, they were very supportive and respectful." 

She said she won't let this once-off deter her from swimming. 

"Unfortunately it happened, and this happens to women all the time, but it doesn't happen to me all the time there."

However, she would like to encourage other women to come forward about similar incidents. 

Gardaí in Galway confirmed they are are investigating the incident.

"Gardaí are investigating a potential public order offence that occurred at Silverstrand beach in Galway on Tuesday September 1, at approximately 6:30pm," a spokesperson said. 

"No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing."