‘Frightened’ tourist left with eye injury after savage mugging

A WELSH tourist has been left ‘frightened of being on the streets of Dublin’ after he was viciously assaulted on a city centre street over the weekend.

Patrick Finn, 43, was on a trip to Ireland with his girlfriend for the weekend when he was randomly attacked outside a restaurant, and left with injuries that may prevent him from ever driving again. He took to RTÉ’s Liveline yesterday to describe the horrific assault.

He told how he was standing outside a restaurant on George’s Street at 10.30pm on Saturday when he was approached by two men who hit him across the head with an object before kicking him in the head.

They took his phone and wallet, leaving Mr Finn bleeding on the ground and struggling to remain conscious.

Speaking to the Mail, he said: ‘It was well orchestrated… one came from behind and one came from the front and they shielded me as if no one would know what was going on. They knew exactly what they were doing.’

After being helped by two passersby, Mr Finn was taken by ambulance to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he remained last night. The results of an ophthalmology exam revealed yesterday that he has suffered damage to his left eye, and he was told that he cannot drive for at least six months. He said he may need to undergo surgery to repair the nerve damage, and there is a possibility he will never be able to drive again.

He has also been told he will need to wear glasses.

Mr Finn also suffered a seizure on Sunday morning following the attack.

The government administration worker is now eager to get home to Wales as soon as possible.

‘I’m half frightened to be in Dublin now to be honest,’ he said. However, despite his experience, he is ‘shocked at people being so kind’ to him.

‘The generosity of some Irish people is unbelievable,’ he said, adding that a fellow patient and her husband gave him €50 when they overheard his story.