Teenage girl assaulted after Ed Sheeran concert in Cork

Cork's Marina, where a teenager was attacked last night. File Picture: Denis Minihane.

A garda investigation is under way after a teenage girl was attacked near the Ed Sheeran concert venue in Cork last night.

An area of the Marina close to Páirc Uí Chaoimh has been sealed off as a crime scene to facilitate a forensic examination by garda forensic experts.

Gardaí are today trying to establish the motive for the attack.

It is not clear if this was a random attack or if the girl was attacked by someone she had had an interaction with earlier.

The alarm was raised at around 10:30pm when several members of the public heard the sound of a female in clear distress coming from an area of greenway just off the Marina, close to a pumping station near the Atlantic Pond.

They went to her assistance and gardaí were alerted.

A large number of gardaí were on patrol in the area at the time as part of the policing operation for the concert and they were on the scene quickly.

The young woman was taken to hospital for treatment and assessment.

Her physical injuries are not thought to be serious.

It is understood the girl may have been attending the Ed Sheeran concert earlier but decided to leave early before the concert ended just before 11pm.

Gardaí are now trying to piece together her movements and interactions in the moments after she left the venue.

A garda spokesman said detectives are trying to establish a motive for the attack but that they have identified a person of interest and are following a number of lines of inquiry today.