Gardaí investigating Cork City hurley attack identify pair from footage
Gardaí have identified two men who attacked each other with a hurley in the heart of Cork City yesterday.
A senior Garda spokesman said the pair were intercepted in the city centre a short time after the incident was reported to them at Anglesea St on Monday afternoon.
He said a number of other individuals who were linked to the pair involved in the alleged assault and public disorder incident have also been identified, and investigations are ongoing.
The incident, which also saw a woman abandon a buggy on the road to intervene, was captured on video.
The 44-second clip, which has been seen by the Irish Examiner, shows two men who appear to be in their late 20s or early 30s, involved in an altercation on the plaza at Daunt Square, at the junction of St Patrick’s St and the Grand Parade.
One is holding a hurley. A number of punches are thrown as the two grapple with each other.
One woman tries to intervene in the early stages of the struggle, while a second abandons a buggy in a lane of traffic which leads from the Grand Parade to the Coal Quay and runs towards the two men.
A third woman grabs the buggy quickly and takes it to safety on the footpath.
As the struggle continues, the taller of the two men wrestles the hurley into his hand and the pair separate.
The tall man then strides towards the other man just outside the entrance to the McDonalds outlet, and swings the hurley at his torso.
The two men struggle again, as one of the women approaches from behind and tries to grab the hurley from the tall man, who then headbutts the smaller man at least twice as the group staggers towards St Patrick’s St.
The woman grabs the hurley, and the men separate, before the smaller man grabs the hurley and marches towards the taller man, who retreats.
The smaller man swings the hurley at his legs, steps back, and advances again before swinging the hurley down on the taller man’s left arm, at which point the recording stops.
