Knife-wielding gang “hunt” gay men in local park

Three gay men were “hunted” in Dublin, Ireland’s central park by a knife-wielding gang of six attackers, but managed to escape unharmed.

“God knows what would have happened if they had not,” said Barry Ward, an Irish senator who shared the men’s story on the floor of the Irish Senate Thursday.

Related: Attacker who murdered gay men & stabbed the eye of another is going away for a long time

Yousef Palani pleaded guilty to the horrific violence.

Ward explained the three men were “chased down” and “hunted by six men with knives.”

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The victims were told by the Garda, Ireland’s national police, that “there was no CCTV so they could not identify the crowd,” Ward shared. “That’s not good enough.”

The gay trio, who were in the Irish capital’s Phoenix Park on Monday night, contacted Ward after the Garda said they were unable to help them.

“What on earth is going on that this still happens in Ireland in 2024 when every right-thinking member of society recognized the normality of sexual relationships between people of the same gender or same sex?” Ward asked colleagues in his speech.

The Garda appealed for witnesses and possible victims in the same area to reach out with relevant information.

“Garda are aware of an incident alleged to have occurred in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on Monday night, June 14, 2024,” the police force said in a statement.

“Garda responded at 11:35pm but following a lengthy patrol of the area no person made any formal report to An Garda Síochána…. An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with direct knowledge or who has been a victim of such an incident in the area to contact An Garda Síochána,” the force added.

Following the “reports of this alleged incident,” police said they were in contact with LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in the area to raise awareness and appeal for witnesses.

Irish Senator Ward added in his speech, “We have come so far as a country in acknowledging the special nature of people who have pride in their sexuality and are showing that to us. It feels like we have come so far and yet we also know there are people in this country who do not acknowledge or accept it.”

Ireland decriminalized homosexual relations in 1993 and was one of the first countries to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015, by popular vote. Ireland’s last prime minister, Leo Varadkar, is gay.

A number of brutal attacks in recent years on LGBTQ+ people linger in the mind of the Irish community.

In 2022, lesbian couple Robyn Deane and Kate McCabe were attacked by a “rage-filled” 15-year-old boy in a bus shelter. The same year, Yousef Palani murdered two gay men, Michael Snee and Aidan Moffitt, decapitating one with “hostility and prejudice.”  

Last year, a couple walking their dog in a park north of Dublin were “stoned” by a gang of teenage boys who threw rocks and called them “f*ggot bastards”, “queers” and “pedophiles.”

It was like a scene out of the Old Testament, said one of the men.

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