By Liam McInerney

Copyright irishmirror

When considering where to find the priciest pint of Guinness in Dublin, most would instantly point towards Temple Bar.

Some might even label it a ‘tourist trap’, but last November, one judge had much stronger words for this central area of the capital after an innocent passerby was assaulted.

During her court sentencing, Pauline Codd remarked: “One wonders in terms of the atmosphere in Temple Bar because the court sees levels of violence meted out there by groups and gangs of young men.

“It seems that Temple Bar is becoming a violent post-apocalyptic place. It’s shocking to see it, that people can’t be safe down there. It makes it a no-go area for people.”

Recent horror

Since her damning verdict, there have been more disturbing incidents, the latest involving an English tourist being stabbed in the chest in the Temple Bar area.

The victim is thought to have been knifed during a dispute on Saturday night before being rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Gardai confirmed an arrest and stated: “Gardai and emergency services attended the scene of an incident of alleged assault, that occurred at a premises in Temple Bar, Dublin 2, on Saturday 20th September 2025 at approximately 11.15pm. A male (aged in his 20’s) was conveyed to St James’s Hospital for treatment of injuries believed to be non-life-threatening at this time.

“A male (aged in his 20’s) has been arrested in connection with the incident, and is currently detained pursuant to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, at a Garda Station in the Dublin area. Investigations are ongoing.”

Temple Bar is famous for its buzzing nightlife and has become a magnet for stag and hen dos from overseas in recent years. It’s also a hotspot for social media influencers sampling the legendary pints of Guinness in what’s marketed as Dublin’s cultural quarter.

While the atmosphere is typically upbeat, with revellers out for a good time, there have been several nasty episodes over the past 12 months, with Saturday evening’s incident marking yet another dark chapter.

Garda assault

Last December, two off-duty Garda officers were brutally attacked around 1.30am in the district, leaving one officer in his 40s fighting for his life. Reports suggested the policeman sustained bleeding on the brain.

The incident was believed to be an attempted mugging, with both men having attended a Christmas do before heading home in the small hours.

Simon Harris, who was Taoiseach at the time, branded it an “alarming and egregious attack in Temple Bar” while former Justice Minister Helen McEntree described what occurred as “appalling”.

Fighting for life

Only last month, an English holidaymaker in his 40s was left battling for his life following an assault in the Temple Bar area around 12.30am. He was treated in Beaumont Hospital after allegedly being booted in the head during a row while holidaying in Ireland.

Days later, a 22-year-old man of no fixed abode was charged with assault causing harm.

On August 30, Garda Colin Kyne-Delaney revealed that the injured man’s condition remained critical and unstable in hospital, where he was in an induced coma.

‘Post-apocalyptic place’

As noted at the start of this report, a shocking incident last year led a judge to describe Temple Bar as a “post-apocalyptic place”.

This came after Jordan Maguire, also of no fixed abode, was caught on CCTV brutally attacking a man on November 1, 2022. He used a can of cider as a weapon to batter the victim.

Maguire, who had a rap sheet of over 50 other convictions including robbery and threats to kill, admitted to the assault causing harm on Bedford Row. He was handed a four-year prison sentence last year, with the final six months suspended.

Despite the judge’s damning comments about the area resembling a scene from a dystopian film, Martin Harte, the chief executive of the Temple Bar Company, dismissed such comparisons as unfair.

As reported in the Irish Times, he said: “I think a lot of the criticism and the view or positioning of Temple Bar comes from the late 1990s and early Noughties and that massive, mad drink culture. It was true then, there were queues outside every pub and hotel; it certainly isn’t true now.”

And casting Temple Bar in a more favourable light, he continued: “Certainly in last couple of years the vintage clothes shops are back, the tattoo parlours, the cafes, the cultural collectives, the private galleries – they’ve really come back.

“Of course some have been lost, but a huge amount have come, and Temple Bar has a thriving cultural scene. I think it’s probably going to get closer to what people thought it might be in the first place. I think its best years are ahead of it.”