An Olympian and martial arts expert has revealed he seldom walks the streets of Dublin city center after he was randomly attacked by a group of men.
Taekwondo star Jack Woolley said he still avoids walking around the city at night, two years after he was injured in a random attack on the Boardwalk along the River Liffey.
He said: “I have only been out a couple of times in the last two years – crazy to think it has been two years since.”
“I would have liked to enjoy coming home from competitions, going out with friends – it was kind of a central meeting point – but I tend to stay away now if I can.”
Woolley said he was walking home with friends shortly after the Tokyo Olympics when a group of eight or nine “just started attacking people randomly”.
He suffered severe damage to his lip after he was taken by a surprise punch and eventually had to get reconstructive surgery.
Woolley said other people who were attacked by the same group suffered stab wounds and fractured skulls.
He told Newstalk FM: “Even if they’re caught, there is a very small chance that something will happen to them – either because they could be under 18 and they think they won’t get in trouble or the fact that things just kind of get left and forgotten about.”