Dublin homophobic attack: man beaten after kissing boyfriend

Danilo Matta was viciously attacked outside of his Dublin apartment after kissing his boyfriend.Danilo Matta, Facebook

The Dublin homophobic attack saw Danilo Matta beaten with steel bars by a gang of thugs outside of his apartment.

Matta, a native of Brazil who has been living in Ireland for about 18 months, detailed the horrifying attack on his Facebook page.

In the public post he shared on September 23, Matta said: “I was assault, attacked by knackers last friday night. They were 5 or 6. I remember seeing at least 2 girls in the group. Two of them were with bikes. They had hit me with bars, I can't remember how many times, without any reason. They didn't take my wallet or cellphone. Homophobia? Xenophobia? Maybe, much probably.

“It is important to know that this kind of things are happening around us. I wasn't the first one and unfortunately I won't be the last one.

“Thank God I could run and thank God I'm ok and safe right now.”

Matta thanked people for their support, adding “we are stronger together.”

Speaking with DublinLive, Matta said: "I live above a pub in North Dublin. My boyfriend had left his bike tied there and we kissed and he cycled away.

"Once he was out of sight, the gang approached and said 'what's going on here?', speaking about the kiss they had just witnessed. There were two girls and four men and two of the men were on bikes.

"At this stage, I start to feel uneasy but before I can even respond, they hit me in the mouth with a steel bar.

"After this hit, I became dazed and confused and couldn't understand what had just happened. They hit me for a second time in the mouth and after that I grabbed my keys in my pocket and ran to the door for my apartment.

"I called the gardai but they didn't come so I went to Kilmainham Garda Station the next day and reported it.

"I rang an ambulance and they arrived quickly. They were very helpful and cleaned me up and made sure I was okay. They wanted me to go to hospital but I just wanted to go to bed so I refused."

Dublin Fire Brigade confirmed the incident to DublinLive: "We received a call on Saturday, 21 September regarding this incident.

"A male sustained a head injury after being assaulted with a bar. Personnel from North Strand fire station responded to the call and Gardai were informed about the assault.

"The patient was conscious and breathing throughout. The patient refused removal to hospital, despite being given medical advice to the contrary."

Man beaten by gang in Dublin after kissing boyfriend