Teen arrested after homophobic rock thrown into Dublin gay bar
(Image by Panti Bar)
A teenager has been arrested after throwing a rock with a homophobic message scrawled on it through the window of Panti Bar.
The bar, on the corner of Capel Street, has windows to the pavement on two sides and is stridently loud and proud about being an LGBT venue.
The attack happened last night, when a rock wrapped in duct tape was thrown through the window. A homophobic message had been crudely on the tape in Gaeilge, translated by Dr Panti Bliss, Panti Bar’s owner and patron.
She tweeted that the message said “FAIRIES (fags) OUT OF IRELAND” along with a photo of the badly-put-together rock:
A brick thrown through Pantibar's window just now. No one hurt.
It says in Irish "FAIRIES (fags) OUT OF IRELAND"But we are Ireland
Happy Pride everyone. It's going to be a great day tomorrow, full of Irish love and queer joy.
Be thankful for it, cos some people have neither pic.twitter.com/AQe2YwXpvY
— Dr Panti Bliss (@PantiBliss) June 29, 2018
Dublin Pride is this weekend, in the capital of a country that seems to be rapidly reforming gender and sexuality restrictions – to the disappointment of people who, it seems clear, could not put glitter on a rock.
Bliss was a face of the ‘YES’ campaign in Ireland’s recent abortion referendum and is getting her own TV show and Pantibar has hosted the Irish head of government, Enda Kelly, for a drink making the venue well-known beyond the LGBT+ scene.
Bliss tweeted that the offender was almost immediately caught, after returning to see what had happened and that he confirmed the attack was homophobic in language as elegant as his missile.
Word of advice: never return to the scene of the crime.
Brick tosser already caught – by bar manager Shane and bouncer Aaron while he was running from the cops! Idiot already arrested.
Young closet… sorry… I mean young guy. ?
Why'd he do it?
"I don't fuckin like dem" etc— Dr Panti Bliss (@PantiBliss) June 29, 2018
No one was hurt during the incident but the boy, in his late teens, could be charged with multiple felonies ranging from hate crime to criminal damage of property. He was arrested by Gardai shortly after the incident at around 11pm.
Dublin Pride events will be all around the city and of course at Panti Bar as planned.
A gay couple celebrating marriage equality in Dublin, 2015 (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Getty Images)
