DCUSU President assaulted

By Shauna Bowers

Niall Behan after the assault. Image credit: Niall Behan

DCUSU President Niall Behan was attacked while walking home from DCU to Glasnevin two weeks ago.

The attack occurred at around 6:30pm on the Tuesday and it is believed that 5 young men in their late teens were involved.

The attackers tried to take Behan’s phone and when he refused, they struck him across the face with a bat. Another one of the young men had a knife in his hand during the assault

“I can laugh and joke about it now, but at the time it was.. it was intense,” Behan said.

“Glasnevin isn’t a dangerous area but when things like this happen, it’s always the same group of people and they’re just absolutely tormenting the residents.”

It is believed that the Gardaí apprehended two of the assailants at a nearby church on the night of the incident.

DCU are hoping to implement some form of additional safety measures to ensure that such an incidence doesn’t occur again.

“We are planning to launch a new student and staff safety app, the first of its kind in this country, next week,” Declan Raftery, Chief Operations Officer in DCU, said.

“We want DCU students to feel safe,” Behan said.