Locals in the Co Cork town of Fermoy have spoken of their shock and fear following an attack on a 16-year-old girl as she walked alone during the afternoon.
The teenage girl was approached by two men at 1.20pm on Monday in the town’s Chapel Square. A man in his 30s remains in Garda custody in connection with the incident on Tuesday.
Local businessman and Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy said the thoughts of the people of Fermoy were with the victim and two other youths who rushed to her aid, whom he described as “heroes”.
“Fermoy is a great town to live in. A great town to raise children in. Days like yesterday upset us in the locality. I have a shop and yesterday everyone was speaking about [how] upset they were about the incident,” he said.
“We have great faith in the gardaí here. They have really gone to lengths with CCTV and interviewing people. I have faith they will solve this crime and stamp it out.
“Happening in daylight. This can’t happen and it must be stamped out. Is it education or what? We want to say we won’t tolerate this. I don’t think people should be put off going out either.
“This is the topic of the town and we are all upset. The girl is the most important person here and hopefully she will make a full recovery.”
'Copycat type of stuff'
Local woman Helen Sheehan, who was shopping in Fermoy town centre, said that the whole country is in fear since the killing of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore, Co Offaly last month.
“It is probably copycat type of stuff. You should be able to walk around when you want. It is frightening for young girls going out. There is a scare around Fermoy. There is a scare everywhere since Ashling Murphy. It is hitting everyone,” she said.
Martin Dennehy, who lives across the road from the square where the incident occurred, said the courts need to come down forcefully on men who attack women as they are going about their day-to-day business.
“When you see that going on it is scary. These incidents should be come down on very strong. Put out a message. In fairness to the guards they are there if you need them,” he said.
“These people should be hammered. I feel strongly about that because I think there is too much the slap of a wrist. And it is going on everywhere. It is not acceptable. They (the courts) are too lenient on these individuals.”
One older woman, who declined to be named, said that she was related to one of the young men who intervened to help the girl.
“You would be afraid now to go out or to go down any lane ways. You don’t know who is going to come out on top of you. As for going out at night, forget about it. I would often do the round of the block at night but I would be afraid of my life now to go out.”
Another man in his late teens, Brandon Geary, said he is close friends with one of the youths who intervened in the attack.
“It is a traumatic experience,” he said. “My friend always tries to protect everyone else. He is a hero in everyone's eyes. It is very bad. You wouldn’t think it would happen here.
“He (my friend) didn’t get the worst he could have got. Thank god nothing happened to his brain,” he said of injuries sustained by the youth as he intervened.
Mr Geary said that young people in the area are fearful since the attack. “Young girls are scared. Definitely,” he said.
Garda investigation
The head of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre, Mary Crilly, said sexual assault has always occurred but it is more visible in the news in recent times.
“I am in Fermoy tomorrow morning in the school so I think it will be a live discussion there. I think it is appalling. I don’t think It's that these attacks are more common, I think it is just that we are reporting it,” she said.
“I still like to remind young girls that although the streets have became unsafe, they are safer than they think. The majority of people are still raped and assaulted by somebody they know.
“We do need to keep the conversation going about violence about rape and about sexual assault. Because I believe they can be stopped. A lot of them are stopped because people intervene. Even having conversations can help as it will make guys realise they can’t get away with these things."
It is understood the girl and her attacker were not known to each other and the assault was random in nature. The teenage girl was taken to hospital in Cork for treatment. She was not physically injured but was left traumatised by the incident.
A forensic examination was carried out at the scene and gardaí are continuing their investigation into the incident. They have harvested CCTV in the area and have spoken to people who witnessed the assault.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact gardaí in Fermoy on 025 82100 or at any Garda station.
