Get all the very latest news in Ireland straight to your email every single day Sign up! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A sex pest was caught in a field just yards from a GAA pitch where young girls were training, it has been claimed.

The alleged incident happened on Wednesday afternoon near the Erin’s Isle GAA club in Finglas, North Dublin.

A group of terrified women claimed they spotted the male, who is in his 40s, carrying out a sex act in a field close to the grounds and managed to restrain him before gardai arrived.

His photograph has been shared thousands of times online.

The women who caught him contacted Adrian Kennedy on 98FM’s Dublin Talks, insisting the man deserved to be named and shamed for his actions.

Witnesses said he was lying on the grass with his trousers down and was engaging in sexual behaviour.

One woman, who said she saw the foreign national, described how she and her friends gave him a slap and forced him to wait for the gardai

Identifying herself as Glenda, she told the radio show: “Myself and three friends were coming back from Slimming World.

“We see the kids every week training. He was lying in full view of the children.

“We seen this man masturbating with his phone out taking pictures. We seen everything.

“His trousers were down to his ankles. We gave him a smack. We felt sick.”

Glenda explained the man didn’t try to cover up his shame and was holding a newspaper and a packet of “colourful toothbrushes”.

She added: “The only thing I can think of was he was going to tell kids they were crayons or sweets

“There were 100 people around us. The gardai arrested him and took statements off a few of us.

“[The man] kept on saying ‘My sister, my sister’ for whatever reason and I said, ‘No, you’re a paedophile’.

“He kept on saying the same thing but we didn’t understand what he was on about.

“I’m 100 million per cent sure of what I saw.

“I could even tell you what kind of underwear he had on. He’s disgusting.

“All I wanted was to keep the children in the area safe like any other parent would.”

The women raised the alarm and gardai arrived within minutes and arrested the suspect.

He was taken to Finglas Garda station and was released without charge hours later.

Gardai said investigations were ongoing.