'Diabolical': Two men knocked out and a third kicked and punched in vicious brawl in Limerick town

GARDAI are investigating a vicious bare-chested brawl that left two men appearing to be knocked out cold and a third man receiving over 20 punches while prone on the street in a Limerick town.

The shocking incidents occurred in Newcastle West late on Saturday night or in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mobile phone footage of the assaults and violent disorder have been widely shared on social media. Around a dozen people were involved with some trying to calm matters and others engaging in violence.

Limerick Live understands a dispute occurred inside a public house in the town when words were exchanged and it then spilled out onto the street.

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The series of video clips shows a balding man punching another man in the face in vicinity of The Square in Newcastle West. He falls back, hitting his head against a shopfront and appears to be lying unconscious on the ground.

The person recording the incidents or somebody close by can be heard shouting: “Boys oh boys, he’s stone dead, leave it. Did ye see the punch?”

It then appears two bare-chested men follow two men up the street - one of whom is wearing a shirt and jacket and the other is shirtless.

The man wearing a shirt and jacket is being attacked on the ground. When his friend comes to his aid he is kicked in the head, falls back and appears to be knocked unconscious. He is punched in the head while he lies prostrate on the street.

The defenceless man in a shirt and jacket on the ground is then punched over 20 times. The second bare-chested man kicks him in the head while he is on the ground.

When the victim on the ground does manage to rise to his feet he is shoulder-charged into a wall. The man wearing a jacket and shirt manages to escape by running across the road and down the street

It is believed that at least one man was hospitalised with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Gardai are treating the matter very seriously and consider it a threat to the safety of the community.

Minister Patrick O’Donovan described it as “horrific”, “diabolical” and “there are no words strong enough to condemn it”.

“I’m appealing to people who can identify the perpetrators to do so to An Garda Siochana,” said Minister O’Donovan. 

Newcastle West garda station can be contacted on 069 20650.