Late last Saturday night, news began to spread online that an Indian man had been attacked in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght. Shocking images of the victim dripping with blood and walking the streets in his bare legs quickly followed.
The man, who is in his early 40s and has requested anonymity and privacy following the attack, had arrived in Ireland three weeks previously on a critical skills visa to begin a new job with a leading international tech company.
He left his wife and 11-month-old baby behind in southern India with plans to apply for their visas to join him in Ireland later this year.
“He came with lots of excitement but now he is traumatised, he’s lost all his confidence,” a resident in the building where the man lived told The Irish Times.
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The resident, who is also from southern India and requested anonymity, visited the man following his release from hospital. The victim is subletting a room in an Indian family’s apartment in the complex.
[ Man violently assaulted and partially stripped by gang in TallaghtOpens in new window ]
“He has two big scars on his forehead, his nose is broke, his left eye is almost closed, his eyes are black. He’s got very visual bruises on his legs and thighs; he was really badly harmed,” the resident said.
Online speculation and commentary have left the victim reeling.
“When he saw the pictures [online], he started gasping for breath; that’s really shaken him. He just wants to run away and hide from people.
“He kept saying: ‘I came here to make a living and live in peace. I was just walking to my place of worship. What wrong have I done, why me?’”
Earlier that Saturday evening, July 19th, the victim set off on foot to the Vinayaka Hindu temple in Kingswood, following a Google Maps route. While walking through Kilnamanagh, he was approached by a group of teenagers who started taunting him and asking why he was in Ireland.
“He’s very softly spoken; he’s a humble guy, not aggressive in any way, and I think he was just being nice,” said his friend.
“He tried explaining he’d been hired by a tech company to fill a skills gap here in Ireland. And then they hit him badly on the head. For 10 to 12 seconds he didn’t know where he was and then he realised blood was oozing from his forehead.”
The group stripped the man from the waist down and took his trousers, before dispersing and leaving him to wander in a dazed state through the residential area.
“He was trying to take cover and seek help; he was so ashamed. A couple of cars passed him and one man hurled abuse at him. There’s a video of that.”
Videos of the bloodied man were quickly shared online, alongside claims he had been acting inappropriately around children before the attack.
Gardaí have confirmed there is absolutely no truth to these claims.
These claims were amplified by prominent anti-immigration accounts, including that of David Atherton, a journalist with a conservative website.
“In Tallaght, a suburb of Dublin, a migrant was caught exposing himself to children. He is covered in blood after being taught some manners,” Atherton falsely claimed in a post to his 300,000 followers on X, accompanied by a video of the man.
Local resident Jennifer Murray spotted the victim as she drove by and stopped to help him. She gave him a blanket and waited with him for an ambulance to arrive. Later that night, she was shocked to see claims spreading online that the man was acting inappropriately.
Her video refuting the claims went viral, racking up more than 500,000 views, and helping to counter much of the misinformation spreading online. However, others directed abuse towards her and, in at least one case, threatened to harm her.
“I was so suddenly aware of how dangerous word of mouth is. It was like watching the internet live in front of me,” she told The Irish Times.
“That’s what really spurred me to alert the local residents to the truth.”
The vast majority of the responses to her video have been positive, she said.
Gardaí are continuing to investigate the incident as a potential hate crime and have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Legislation introduced earlier this year mandates tougher sentences for crimes motivated by racism or other bigotry.
Akhilesh Mishra, India’s ambassador to Ireland, praised Murray and the “large number of common Irish people have also shared their concern and sympathy for the innocent victim”.
He said the incident has caused “widespread outrage, fear and concern among the Indian community all over Ireland”.
[ Indian family suffers torrent of racial abuse on Belfast to Dublin trainOpens in new window ]
Mishra said the embassy has visited the victim and is liaising with the Garda and other authorities, as well as the wider Indian community.
In another incident last Saturday night, Vikram Jain, an Irish citizen who moved from India 20 years ago, discovered his tenant had also been attacked. The young man, who is studying for a master’s degree at Dublin Business School, arrived back at Jain’s home with a broken nose.
The student was walking through Sean Walsh Park in Tallaght at about 6pm when, he said, he was approached by a group of teenagers.
I’ve lived in this country for over 20 years and always praised Ireland as one of the safest nations in the world. But my views have totally changed over the past three years
— Vikram Jain
“They started hurling verbal abuse at him and then they punched him in the face and all over his body,” Jain told The Irish Times.
“He was bleeding badly when two other men came to help and brought him to the Garda station.”
The student was later treated for injuries in Tallaght Hospital and has returned for daily check-ups since the assault, according to his landlord.
Gardaí confirmed they had been notified of an alleged assault on the evening of July 19th, 2025, at Sean Walsh Park and said investigations were ongoing.
“He is now terrified, not just of going out but of speaking up about what happened,” said Jain, who spoke to The Irish Times on his behalf.
“He’s still in huge pain, he’s scared and not eating.
“I’ve lived in this country for over 20 years and always praised Ireland as one of the safest nations in the world. But my views have totally changed over the past three years. Many people, especially immigrants, are now living in fear.”
Indian IT workers, doctors and nurses have started sharing experiences of similar attacks in community WhatsApp groups, said Jain. Some no longer let their teenage children out to socialise and others avoid using public transport.
“There is a growing misunderstanding among some members of the public – particularly youth – about who immigrants are. Indian nationals pay substantial taxes, work in critical sectors such as IT and healthcare, and support the very infrastructure that helps Ireland thrive.”
There are 78,086 Indian nationals living in Ireland, according to the 2023 population estimates from administrative data sources, collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Census data, which is collected using different methodologies, shows 45,449 were living in the State in April 2022.
More than a third of skilled employment permits awarded by Government to foreign nationals in 2024 went to Indians. Some 13,500 Indians secured work permits last year, compared to 4,553 Brazilians and 4,049 Filipino workers.
Indian nurses make up a fifth of all registered nurses and midwives in the State, according to 2024 figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. Nearly 18,500 Indian nurses and midwives are registered to work here alongside 54,000 Irish nurses, more than 7,000 Filipinos and more than 3,200 from the UK.
I used to be comfortable going out alone but that incident took away my sense of safety. Even if my daughter asks me to take her to the park in the evening, I won’t go without another adult
— Jiby Palatty
Jiby Palatty, who has worked as a nurse in a Dublin hospital for nearly two decades, contacted gardaí in mid-May after two teenage boys on an e-scooter threw a glass bottle that shattered on her leg while she was training in Lucan for the women’s mini-marathon. Two months on from the incident, gardaí visited her home this week to take a formal complaint.
She described the injury to her leg as a “surface wound, nothing major” but said the “emotional trauma” ran deep.
“I’ve been here since 2006 and I suddenly felt like I wasn’t welcomed. I felt embarrassed and alone,” she said.
Palatty quickly discovered she was not alone and that many of her Indian nursing colleagues suffered similar experiences.
“They never said anything because they felt shame and knew gardaí couldn’t do anything because these are just kids,” she said.
“I was so scared about running after that and it was only because I was training for the marathon that I found the courage to go back out with my husband. I used to be comfortable going out alone but that incident took away my sense of safety. Even if my daughter asks me to take her to the park in the evening, I won’t go without another adult.
“There’s been so many incidents in the park and I don’t want to be that person in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I can, I will avoid it.”
Fine Gael councillor for Donaghmede Supriya Singh said last Saturday’s assault in Kilnamanagh “wasn’t random – it was hate”.
“There has been a noticeable increase in racially motivated attacks – not just on the Indian community, but on migrants more broadly,” she said.
“I hear from residents constantly that people are scared. This cannot become the new normal.”
Data published by An Garda Síochána shows a 12 per cent increase in hate-related incidents reported in Ireland between 2022 and 2023, with most incidents linked to the victims’ ethnicity or nationality. However, the force still warns that hate-related crime is underreported.
The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill needs “clear definitions and real consequences” around hate speech, said Singh.
Gardaí are also under-resourced and need the tools and training to identify, record and follow up on these crimes, she added.
“People who have made Ireland their home and contribute every day to its growth and success deserve our respect, not violence.”
