Irish singer Una Healy is among the famous faces who have sent their support to Darren Kennedy after he revealed a man tried to mug him and his boyfriend “quite aggressively” in Dublin.
The Dublin-born TV presenter urged others to “be careful” as he recalled the incident that occurred in the capital on Monday night at 11.30pm.
He also said that he believes there needs to be greater visibility of gardai on the streets to deter criminal activity.
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Speaking about the incident in a video posted to his Instagram, he said: “So last night I was walking home minding my own business with my boyfriend after a lovely day and crossed the street and suddenly discovered that there’s a man following me, who then threatened to mug us quite aggressively.”
He explained that the man tried to conceal the lower half of his face and that he appeared like he had a knife or an object underneath his T-shirt.
Kennedy said the thief shouted a slur at him before demanding “give me all your money, give me everything you have”.
The TV presenter continued: “At which point we were stunned, I told him to back off.
“We had an umbrella, I held the umbrella out and then he came towards us and I said ‘let’s just run’ so we ran.
“Slightly terrified, I’m not going to lie. He didn’t touch us but it was very, very scary and I was shocked that this has happened in Dublin city.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be but in this particular area, the streets that I was walking in, literally, I have walked hundreds of times and have never had an ounce of trouble.
“Never had an interaction with anyone, have been totally safe, I’ve always felt safe in Dublin city.”
He said he called gardai who responded “very quickly” and were “reassuring” but noted that more resources are needed to help prevent incidents happening like this in the future.
Kennedy also warned others to “be careful, be aware, take care of yourself” when in Dublin.
Friends and Irish stars sent support to Kennedy with The Saturdays singer Healy commenting: “Glad you are both ok! That’s shocking. So so scary. It’s good to raise awareness of this x”
Irish broadcaster Maia Dunphy also added: “Oh Darren, this is awful” while country singer Cliona Hagan wrote: “So sorry to hear this Darren! Glad you are both ok”.
Former US actor Eric Rutherford also said: “Very glad you’re both okay @darrenkennedyofficial” and former Union J member Josh Cuthbert commented: “Mate I am so sorry to hear this. Sending you lots of love. Why do people have to do this sort of stuff. It’s shocking.”
TV presenter and style expert Kennedy previously hosted #Trending on RTE 2 and has appeared on ITV’s This Morning for fashion segments.
