Taoiseach expresses solidarity with assaulted Navan teen

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed his solidarity with the the 14-year-old school boy who was viciously assaulted in Navan earlier this week .

Speaking on the Today with Claire Byrne show, Mr Varadkar said: "I grew up in 1980's and 1990's Ireland. I had a great childhood but ultimately I was the brown guy with the funny name who a lot of people suspected was gay. So I have some insight on what it is like not to be the popular guy in school".

He empathised with the young man in the video saying: "I really feel for him. He shouldn't have been subjected to violence. He shouldn't have been humiliated by having that video posted online. It is a very sick kind of individual that posts pictures and videos with the purpose of humiliating other people and also the bystanders, nobody intervened to help him and look I can only imagine how he feels now- very isolated, very alone, probably embarrassed, maybe a bit ashamed.

"I think for a lot of people who had a hard time at school, life does get a lot better. You get to go to college. You get to spend time with people who are much more like you. I just hope has a supportive family and supportive parents."

When asked about the role of social media, the Taoiseach said social media companies have a significant role to play in taking down this content very quickly and also cancelling the accounts of the people who post and repost videos like this.

Yesterday, while in Iceland, Mr Varadkar condemned the assault, describing the incident as “horrifying.”

“It looks to me like somebody was targeted because they’re different and they were humiliated and physically assaulted. I think everyone would condemn it utterly. I understand there is a Garda investigation underway and that the victim has been treated for their injuries,” he said.

Mr Varadkar issued a plea for anyone who has information to cooperate with the Garda investigation.

“I really want to send my solidarity to the young person who was harmed and injured in this way. I really to say to them that life does get better. It is very sad that people experience violence and bullying in school but life does get better, and not to give up.”

“I also just really want to say how sad I am that in this day and age that we still see this kind of bullying and violence happening in our schools. You’d hope that as time moves on, particularly with young people being so progressive and so clued in to the world around them, that this wouldn’t happen, but it still does and I really feel sorry for the young person and their family.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Justice Simon Harris has spoken to the family of the teenage victim of the assault. A spokeswoman for Mr Harris confirmed the minister spoke to his family last night. She said Minister Harris "shared his horror at the very brutal attack the young man endured".

It is clear the young man "suffered significant injuries from a coordinated attack," the spokeswoman added, that is unacceptable and "should not happen to any person".

Mayor of Navan Edward Fennessy also condemned the attack and said no person should be subjected to such savagery.

He said: “Those responsible for what can only be described as a hate crime, must be held accountable for their actions.

“No person, not least a child should be subjected to such savagery. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

“Our thoughts are with the victim and their family. Recovery is what’s important now. The best care the state has to offer must be made available to the child.”

“As the Mayor of Navan, I offer the support of the people and I ask that the family be given space during this difficult time,” he added.

Sinn Féin TD for Meath West Johnny Guirke has described the video as 'utterly shocking'.

"The video circulating on social media of a teenager being attacked by a group of school going teenagers is utterly shocking. My thoughts at this time are with the child assaulted and their family.

"I would urge people to heed the advice of Gardaí not to further circulate this video and for anyone with any information about this incident to bring it to Gardaí so that this incident can be properly investigated and the perpetrators dealt with.

"There can be no room in our society for these types of acts and this behaviour.

"People in Navan and across the country will be rightly disgusted by this incident. It is not on and we must ensure this behaviour is rooted out once and for all."

Writing on their facebook page, Meath LGBT Pride/Meath LGBTQ Support Group said it was aware of the video of the attack circulating online and the speculation that this was a homophobic attack.

"While this is unconfirmed, we strongly stand with the people of Navan/Meath and surrounding areas as this type of behaviour is unacceptable and we stand against this behaviour and ask people not to share this video.

"Violent attacks happen on members of the LGBTQ community in this country and our town we live in. This is why we have pride in our community and we need your support."