Gardaí probe assault on mother in Tuam park

A WOMAN who was kicked in the back during an assault in the Palace Grounds in Tuam last week has told this newspaper that her young son was left traumatised after witnessing the incident.

Gardaí are investigating the assault of a woman in her 40s in the public park on Monday evening of last week (July 13). The incident was videoed and footage has been widely circulated on social media over the past week.

The footage shows a woman, in the presence of her son, being kicked in the back and struck in the head repeatedly by two females. The woman subsequently attended the Emergency Department in University Hospital Galway for treatment to her ankle and had to take time off work.

“This was an unprovoked assault,” the assault victim told The Tuam Herald.

“While the perpetrators filmed the attack to mock and humiliate me, the physical and psychological consequences are severe.

“I have just been released from the hospital and am now forced to walk on crutches.

“My four-year-old son was present and witnessed his parent being violently assaulted. The trauma inflicted on a toddler seeing this is immeasurable,” she told The Tuam Herald.

Gardaí say they received a report of an alleged assault on a woman by three other females at approximately 6pm on Monday July 13, in the Palace Grounds. Their investigations into the matter are ongoing.

Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council Cllr Andrew Reddington said that such incidents are not something that people in Tuam want to see.

“Last week, I met with a local from the Tuam area at my clinic in Headford. They have lived in Tuam for a generation and are disgusted with that they have seen in the video,” said Cllr Reddington.

“Tuam is a good town, and we do not want anyone destroying its good name. I fully expect the Gardaí to act in the very near future after a full investigation.”