Homeless man ‘lucky’ he didn’t die after gang attack

The swelling on Hussein’s face was so severe that doctors had to wait six days to carry out surgery on his jaw

Up to six men jumped on Hussein after he had spent an evening with friends playing basketball in Dublin’s Mountjoy Square Park.

Doctors had to wait six days to carry out surgery on Hussein’s jaw, such was the severity of swelling on his face.

A group of men — up to six, Hussein’s thinks — jumped on him after he spent the evening with friends playing basketball in Dublin’s Mountjoy Square Park.

At least one of the assailants struck him with a blunt implement, possibly a hammer.

“I was told I was lucky, because I didn’t die,” Hussein, who only gave his first name, told the Irish Examiner.

The homeless Somali asylum seeker was on Parnell St in Dublin city centre when the men attacked.

“I never saw them; they come from behind,” he said.

“I can’t remember if they said anything, but they hit me with metal or a hammer in the chin and four times in the jaw and the face.”

The 24-year-old immediately lost consciousness.

He said: “I woke up in hospital, and I didn’t know what happened. I was shocked when I saw my injuries.”

His upper and lower jaws were fractured. His nose was broken. Three and a half of his front teeth were smashed in.

Homeless Somali asylum seeker Hussein suffered a broken jaw and nose after being assaulted by a group of men on Parnell St in Dublin city centre on Friday, June 26. File picture

Videos and photographs show the scale of the swelling and injuries.

“The doctor said some nerves are not working well. They may recover, but may not,” he added.

The attack happened on June 26. Some 10 days after, Hussein still couldn’t talk when contacted by the Irish Examiner.

All communication was by text, which continued over the week. He has to take his food orally by syringe.

“It is hard, but it is the only way,” he said.

Though Hussein cannot remember details of his attack, he believes the perpetrators were Irish.

“Yes, they were Irish, but I had nothing to do with them,” he said.

I really like this country, but I can’t explain why I was attacked. They did not take my phone or money.

Gardaí at Mountjoy Garda Station are investigating.

Hussein endures significant pain.

“I am in pain every day; I use so many painkillers. I can’t talk or sleep on my sides,” he said.

Hussein fled civil war

Hussein arrived in Ireland in February 2024, fleeing the civil war in his country involving the Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab and the government.

“My father and family are fighting the government, and they are al-Shabaab supporters because our region was always controlled by them,” he said.

“I didn’t want to fight or die. I lost a brother in the fight.”

He was homeless until last September, when he got a place in an International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) centre.

On June 10, he became homeless again and slept in a tent in a Dublin park.

Hussein is most worried about where he will go after he is discharged in about five weeks.

Thanks to Liam Hourican, who approached him in St James’s Hospital, Hussein has received physical support and, through a fundraiser on iDonate, some €6,000 so far in aid.

“That Sunday, I was in the emergency department with my fiancée,” Liam said.

“I spotted a young man two beds down with terrible injuries to his face. I went down to him to see if he needed anything." 

Another volunteer friend visited, and together they set up the fundraiser.

“People visit me and stand with me. This helps me forget the pain,” he said.

• Cormac O'Keeffe, Security Correspondent