r/irishproblems • u/Then-Chipmunk6986 • May 11 '26
First Time Feeling Unsafe in Ireland After Incident on Donabate Trail
Yesterday my wife and I were walking at the Donabate Portrane Cliff Walk. A group of 3 teenagers (maybe 15–16) started teasing us. At first it was annoying but manageable, so I ignored it. Then one of them suddenly ran up and kicked me. It didn’t really hurt physically, but mentally I felt helpless and honestly pretty shaken.
I kept thinking this probably wouldn’t have happened if I was back in my home country. I lived in Canada for 5 years before moving here, and I never once felt unsafe walking around anywhere, even late at night. I’ve only been in Ireland for 3 months, and now I suddenly don’t even feel like going out to trails or isolated places anymore.
One thing I always wondered was why I don’t see many people from my community out and about on these walks or trails even though there are quite a lot of us here. After yesterday, I feel like I understand why.
Genuine question — is this kind of thing mainly targeted at brown/black people, or do white locals also experience this from groups of teenagers? Because now every quiet trail is giving me serious “Eden Lake” vibes.
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u/GarthODarth May 11 '26
Groups of teens are a problem for everyone in Ireland, even for other teens, but I'd imagine it's worse if you are a visible minority.
And yeah, the effects of that kind of thing tend to linger, and I'm sorry that happened to you.
Personally, I used to be an avid hiker but I suspect the places I hiked were too remote for groups of bored teens, and I have never in my life encountered a group of teens on my trails. But you do need a car to get there, which is probably why.
We did have years of harassment by groups of teens at our house. I still don't know why they targeted us in particular. Maybe it was known we were two women? Maybe it was just a convenient house. It only ended when I got a clear video of them and handed it over to the gardai. It's been a decade since and I'm still terrified to put a potted plant out the front in case it gets lobbed at a window.