On Saturday night, June 17, Drogheda Life received an email with a short video attached which was really shocking. It showed a group of teenagers shouting vile abuse and physically attacking two men at the Watery Hill steps.
The man who sent the video has asked to remain anonymous but he said that he is a gay man of German extraction who has been living in Drogheda with his husband for over a year having moved from Dublin where they lived since 2017.
He told Drogheda Life that he and his husband love living in Drogheda and have made some really good friends here and that their neighbours in the Millmount area are all extremely friendly. On Saturday evening though an incident occurred that almost defies description.
The pair were out for a walk with their dog around 8.00 pm when a group of teenagers, one in particular who seemed to be the ‘gang leader’ started shouting homophobic and racist abuse at them. They then started throwing rocks at the dog and yelling foul profanities.
“On our way back from the park, same thing happened only more intense language” the man said. “I’ll kill your dog” was replaced with “I’ll rape your dog” and “gay bastards” and other more colourful sentences.
“I took out my mobile to record them which made matters even worse unfortunately, as they started following us and threw a big rock at my head. Soon enough things escalated in a manner where my mobile got smashed, my husband’s glasses and my nose.”
The man told Drogheda Life that he and his husband had been the butt of many homophobic comments in their time but nothing quite like the ferocity of the four teenagers they encountered first near the bus station and again on the Watery Hill steps.
“I’ve never encountered such hate in my life” he told Drogheda Life. “Where’re does such a deep level of hatred come from in such young people? It makes me wonder what their home situation is like.”
“It was a deeply shocking few minutes and, apart from being scared, it made me think how sad it was that this was their view on life and their need to show off to their friends saying ‘look at me , aren’t I so cool?’.
“I actually pity them, it makes me sad that this type of thing may be the extent of their lives. I hope for their sakes they can get involved with some youth schemes to keep them busy, not hanging around looking for trouble.
He said that he would not let this attack colour his view of Drogheda. “I love it so much here” he said. “My neighbours are just lovely and I want to stay.”
