Dublin bar owner says there is

Jim O’Callaghan had claimed on Thursday that Dublin is “very safe” with low levels of crime compared to the US.

An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.

Ian Redmond, who runs Hyde Bar, said Dublin has a “feral ambience” at present as he urged for more to be done to address issues in the capital.

He said Dublin previously had a “playful” atmosphere at night but that existing problems were “exacerbated” by the pandemic, with a “huge drugs element” adding to problems in the city.

Redmond was responding to remarks made on Thursday by minister Jim O’Callaghan, who had insisted that Dublin is “very safe” in the wake of a violent assault on Grafton Street in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The Fianna Fáil minister had said that there’s a “greater sense of safety” around the city as he pointed to new high visibility policing and increased numbers coming into An Garda Síochána.

“Dublin is a very large city. There’s over a million people in Dublin. We are going to have incidents that happen in Dublin of criminal behaviour,” O’Callaghan has said Thursday.

The Dublin Bay South TD also told reporters that no government “can ensure that there won’t be criminal activity within Dublin”, but that it was at a “very low level” compared to other cities around the world.

“This year, to date, in Ireland, there has not been one gun-related killing. I mentioned that to a series of federal attorneys general from the United States who were over here. They presumed I had got it wrong,” O’Callaghan said.

Speaking this morning on Newstalk to Anton Savage, Redmond said that O’Callaghan and his predecessor Helen McEntee had both claimed that Dublin remains safe overall despite violent incidents, which the bar owner said was not borne out by his experiences.

“Both of them have said that Dublin is a safe place – it’s not. Since Covid there is a feral ambience or mood in the city, it’s not the way it was,” Redmond said.

He added that a “doughnut effect” had seen the city centre emptied out of people residing in the city on a full-time basis, which he argued had deepened safety issues at night.

The question of whether Dublin is safe has been central to the new system of Local Community Safety Partnerships, which were set up to replace Joint Policing Committtees.

The government has set up 36 groups around the country, with one in each local authority area. Last month, a public meeting of the South Dublin Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) group highlighted issues with antisocial behaviour, garda shortages and fear and intimidation.

Issues that came up repeatedly during the round-table discussion included bins and bushes being set on fire, open drug use in public places, and opportunistic crime.

The Journal’s reporting of the new Local Community Safety Partnerships is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.

View 110 comments Send Tip or Correction var newest_articles = [{"id":7213432,"title":"Seven people injured, including two children, in arson attack on Dublin city home","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/clanbrassil-cose-dublin-8-fire-arson-attack-7213432-Nov2026\/","stats":" 5,469 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/dublin-8\/news\/","name":"Dublin 8"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7213452,"title":"Judge criticises aspects of new legal aid scheme as 'grossly unfair' and 'demonstrably illogical'","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/legal-aid-fee-scheme-row-jim-ocallaghan-7213452-Nov2026\/","stats":" 5,501 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/legal-aid-row\/news\/","name":"legal aid row"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7213356,"title":"T\u00e1naiste wants to find 'resolution' to public sector strike before major EU summit lands in Dublin","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/public-sector-strike-ireland-8-7213356-Nov2026\/","stats":" 2,160 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/strike-pending\/news\/","name":"strike pending"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7213392,"title":"Ryanair's Michael O'Leary has called for a two-drink limit at airport bars \u2013 do you agree?","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/michael-oleary-ryanair-airport-two-drink-limit-poll-7213392-Nov2026\/","stats":" 8,093 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/the-daily-poll\/news\/","name":"The Daily Poll"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7213393,"title":"HSE failed to ensure that thousands of children under six received vital health checks","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/under-six-children-health-checks-hse-report-7213393-Nov2026\/","stats":" 1,483 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/health-checks\/news\/","name":"health checks"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7213368,"title":"Noel McNamara to become Leinster head coach after Leo Cullen departs at end of the season","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/noel-mcnamara-to-succeed-leo-cullen-as-leinster-head-coach-2-7213368-Nov2026\/","stats":" 2,654 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/appointment\/news\/","name":"Appointment"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7212744,"title":"The FOI Files: Is Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n investigating social media companies for dangerous driving videos?","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/the-foi-files-coimisiun-na-mean-social-media-investigations-7212744-Nov2026\/","stats":" 941 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/the-foi-files\/news\/","name":"The FOI Files"},"image":" ","no_image":""}]; var popular_articles = [{"id":7212412,"title":"SuperValu says refrigeration cyberattack \u2018fully resolved\u2019 as stores restock chilled and frozen food","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/supervalu-cyber-incident-13-stores-fridges-7212412-Nov2026\/","stats":" 61,381 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/cyberattack\/news\/","name":"Cyberattack"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7212317,"title":"Jack Chambers says public sector unions plan for strike day on 12 November 'extremely regrettable'","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/unions-meet-to-consider-another-day-of-strike-action-in-public-sector-7212317-Nov2026\/","stats":" 45,369 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/no-agreement\/news\/","name":"no agreement"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7212292,"title":"'Much-loved and inspirational' Irish Olympian Ciara Mageean to be laid to rest tomorrow","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/ciara-mageean-funeral-details-co-down-athlete-7212292-Nov2026\/","stats":" 25,138 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/co-down\/news\/","name":"co down"},"image":" ","no_image":""},{"id":7212837,"title":"Former Irish rugby star Brendan Mullin pleads not guilty to Brown Thomas perfume theft","permalink":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/brendan-mullin-court-case-perfume-theft-7212837-Nov2026\/","stats":" 24,645 Views ","primary_tag":{"slug":"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/courts\/news\/","name":"Courts"},"image":" ","no_image":""}]; if( typeof(current_post_id) != 'undefined' && !isNaN(current_post_id)) { var current_article_id = current_post_id; } else { var current_article_id = 7075651; } jQuery(document).ready(function($){ var div_read_next = $('#storage_read_next_bottom'); if (typeof readNext != 'undefined') { readNext.display_read_next_block(div_read_next); } }); Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site

600px wide <iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-safe-7075651-Jun2026/?embedpost=7075651&width=600&height=460" ></iframe>

400px wide <iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-safe-7075651-Jun2026/?embedpost=7075651&width=400&height=460" ></iframe>

300px wide <iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-safe-7075651-Jun2026/?embedpost=7075651&width=300&height=460" ></iframe>

By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy .