A man who said teenagers attacked him in Coolock in Dublin for being gay, believes they wanted to kill him.
He was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment following Tuesday's alleged attack.
Marc Power, who is in his 50s, said he was lured to the carpark at the Odeon Cinema in Coolock on Tuesday night through a fake profile on the dating app, Grindr.
He said he was expecting to meet a date but was approached by a group of teenagers who attacked him as he sat in his car.
"That's one of the reasons I think I'm here talking to you today," Mr Power told Dublin Talks on 98FM.
"I was able to keep them at bay. They had instruments of some sort - metal, blunt instruments. One of them hit me in the face and I started bleeding."
Folks last night this man was attacked because he's gay because a group of homophobic scum bags set up a fake profile on @Grindr and used it to lure him into an ambush. As a gay man this terrifies and infuriates me all in one. We all use or have used Grindr for various 1/ pic.twitter.com/ur8XOo9eh7
— Cllr Chris Pender 🏳️🌈 (@ChrisPenderKE) October 16, 2019
He said he was called a paedophile and a pervert and believes the attack was premeditated.
"I don't think they were trying to assault me, I think they were trying to kill me," Mr Power said.
"And that's what I've come away with from this. They were not just trying to frighten me or hurt me."
Gardaí have launched an investigation; no arrests have been made as yet.
