Ray Kennedy has revealed his teenage son was attacked by a gang of thugs over the weekend.
The RTÉ News anchor’s son Ciaran, who is 19, was cycling home from his summer job at Dublin Airport when he was jumped by five people on the Swords Road.
The incident happened just after midnight on Saturday, and Ciaran was thankfully saved by three passers-by who helped stop the attack.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Ray said: “He is pretty shaken up, but I dread to think how bad it would have been if they had not intervened to save him. We are very grateful to them all.”
“They came out of the bushes and attacked him, he didn’t stand a chance. They jumped out of the bushes and shouted ‘gimme your bike’.
“He tried to defend himself, but he was outnumbered and they attacked him,” the 51-year-old explained.
“Two guys intervened and managed to grab Ciaran’s hike off the gang and they ran off. Then a woman in a car stopped and helped him as well.”
“Ciaran got back on the bike and cycled off but thankfully the woman followed him at Whitehall Church and told him he needed to get checked out.”
Ciaran asked the woman to call Ray, who then brought his son to Beaumont Hospital.
“Ciaran is a decent lad, he did not deserve this. He is grand now, but a bit shook up. He has to get an operation now to straighten his nose,” the news anchor explained.
“But I know it could have been a lot worse. I dread to think what would have happened if the people didn’t intervene.”
“We are really grateful to them and I have already contacted to thank them for what they did.”
The Gardaà are now investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made.
