Roisin Prendergast, 20, and her girlfriend Ciara Murphy, 17, were left unconscious and beaten following an unprovoked homophobic attack in Limerick, Ireland.
The two were on their way to get some late-night food, and at around 2 a.m., two men began hurling anti-gay slurs at the couple.
Roisin later recalled:
“We had literally left our apartment only minutes before when these two grown men started shouting abuse at us about being lesbians.
Initially we shouted back as we are used to this kind of abuse – but then they walked back towards us and started shoving us roughly.”
The shoving turned more violent, and the women were thrown to the ground.
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As Ciara tells it:
“Suddenly, the men pushed us to the ground. They were stepping on our chests, they kneed and kicked us.”
After approximately ten minutes of attacking the couple, the two men left with the girls’ hats. Roisin and Ciara thought the ordeal was over.
It wasn’t.
“We thought it was over. Then one guy came back, threw Ciara against a shop window and ripped up her hat in front of her,” Roisin said.
When it was all finally over, Ciara was unconscious from a blow to the head, and Roisin lay next to her, bloodied and in shock.
Some passersby noticed the scene and alerted emergency services.
The two men, identified as being in their early-mid twenties and “well-dressed, as if coming back from a night out,” have not been identified as of yet.
An investigation is currently underway.
Roisin later posted on Facebook:
I know our bruises will heal, I know we will be ok but this is not something I am going to let go. Watching someone you love getting hurt while you yourself are getting hurt is not something anyone should ever have to endure straight or gay. This to me was a hate crime. I am finished crying, today starts the first of many actions which will be taken to get justice.
Charlie in Charge
Unforgivable; hopefully the trash who did this will be caught and soon.
Louis
Despicable I hope they catch these men and that these women heal physically mentally and emotionally.
These men belong behind bars or in a cage not in a civilized society period.
Giancarlo85
The most traumatic part of this story is this couple probably doesn’t even feel safe in their own home, considering the attack took place so close to where they live.
I hope they arrest those who did this and put them away for a long time.
cflekken
It’s 2:00 am. The guys were pretty drunk. You just keep walking.
Tackle
The best thing to do in a situation like this is to keep on walking. No need to get into a verbal spat, that’s only going to escalate the situation. If it comes down to the point where you have to physically defend yourself, by all means do so. It’s not a cowardly act to just keep on walking. It would be a more sensible act. Considering in this case, you have two drunk grown men who are bigger a stronger than you, and on top of that,you don’t know if they have a weapon. But wishing the couple a speedy recovery.
Scribe38
@Tackle: @cflekken: Bullsh*t the guys were intent on hurting these women because they are dicks and cowards. Staying silent wouldn’t have saved them. I have a life time of experience of being picked on by bigots and being silent has never deterred one of them. Pulling a knife on one worked, cursing out a bunch worked, attempting to stab one with surgical scissors worked. What has never worked was me staying quiet and taking it.
Giancarlo85
Wow. Blaming the victims now I see some are doing? Keep walking doesn’t always work and sometimes it pisses them off even more.
Scribe38
@Tackle: @cflekken: That’s like telling a woman she was raped because she wore a short dress. Yeah they asked for it. -_-
Bullies pray on those they view as weaker, that’s the only reason they were attacked. Saying they should have stayed silent, like it would have protected them, will protect either of you, is delusional.
Tackle
@Scribe38: @Scribe38: Did you bother to read the post? No one is victim blaming. But the couples own testimony states that, ” the men were shouting abuse at them. And when they started shouting back, THE MEN WALKED BACK TO THEM.” So apparently the men were shouting abuse, but did not approach them until they started shouting back. Is that so fu@king hard to comprehend? Sometimes it’s best to lay pride & ego aside. And all this hypothetical nonsense about, rape, short dresses, and bullies, doesn’t even apply here…
enfilmigult
@Tackle: Yeah, despite the quotation marks those are your words, and you’re changing them from the original just enough to make their responding the direct cause of the guys turning back and attacking them, something *their* words simply don’t establish for sure.
And the kicker is that even if that were exactly how it happened it still wouldn’t matter—a shout is not an invitation to be beaten and they’re still 100% responsible for doing it. Unless you’re saying otherwise I have no idea what your point is.
corey
i hope there is some security camera footage.
Billysees
@cflekken:
“It’s 2:00 am. The guys were pretty drunk. You just keep walking.”
Good simple advice.
KennyA
It is shameful that some people still feel the need to harm or hate someone because of who they love. Isn’t there enough hate in the world already? Unfortunately, the cowards who did this might never be caught.