An Garda Síochána says it has identified a man who was critically injured in an assault in the Temple Bar area of Dublin earlier this week.
The force released a photograph of a tattoo on the man’s right forearm in the hope it might lead to information and on Saturday afternoon it thanked the public for their assistance.
Two men were arrested on Friday in connection with the incident which happened on Cope Street at around 12.30am on Wednesday.
Gardaí said the pair, aged in their 20s and 30s, remained in custody under the provisions Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
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The injured man, whose age is unknown, remains in a critical condition at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital, An Garda Síochána said in a statement.
It is understood the man was not able to communicate with medical staff or gardaí after being brought to hospital and that no next of kin initially came forward.
He suffered serious head injuries and remained in a coma on Friday. The extensive nature of the injuries to his face were complicating efforts to determine his identity.
The force released an image of a tattoo on the man’s right forearm. The blue and white tattoo features the words “Ceol is Beatha”, ceol meaning music and beatha meaning life.
Gardaí again appealed to anyone who was in the Cope Street area between midnight and 1am on Wednesday, and who may have information about the incident, to come forward.
When asked about the assault on Friday, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly expressed concern for the victim but insisted Dublin is a safe city.
Kelly said Dublin is “a big international European city” and “unfortunately, sometimes there will always be incidents like this”.
“This is just the nature of big cities,” said Kelly. “But Dublin is a safe city. Ireland is a safe country.”
The Minister encouraged anyone with information about the incident to contact gardaí. He said given the size of Dublin’s population “unfortunately, at times, there are going to be terrible assaults”.
However, he reaffirmed his view that “Dublin is a safe city”.
