A 40-year-old man suffered horrific facial injuries after he was savagely beaten over the head with a bottle in an unprovoked attack while on a Luas tram as he travelled home after a concert.

The violent incident has led gardai to warn commuters to be "extra vigilant" when using public transport in the busy period before Christmas, particularly late at night.

The horrific Luas incident unfolded shortly after midnight on Thursday when innocent victim Noel O' Rourke was making his way back home from the Peter Gabriel gig at 3Arena.

When the red-line tram that he was travelling on reached the Smithfield stop, a gang of thugs caused a disturbance, these included a female and a number of males.

They targeted Mr O'Rourke who was hit a number of times with a bottle during a vicious assault.

It is understood that Mr O'Rourke suffered a fractured eye socket and needed staples in his head following the brutal incident.

He was rushed to the Mater Hospital where he received detailed treatment before was discharged yesterday evening.

He was recovering at his home in Dublin's south inner city last night and is said to be deeply traumatised.

When contacted by the Herald, Mr O'Rourke said that he had no comment at this time.

CCTV

The assault is being investigated by gardai at the Bridewell Garda Station who have obtained good quality CCTV of the incident.

There have been no arrests made so far but sources say that officers are "confident" of identifying the culprits and solving the crime because of the good quality CCTV that has been gathered.

"This was a savage attack and Mr O' Rourke was entirely blameless," a senior source told the Herald.

There have been a number of serious anti-social behaviour problems and serious incidents on Luas trams this year which even prompted undercover gardai to monitor it on occasions particularly on the red-line where this week's horror attack happened.

Almost 1,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour and threats to passengers and staff occurred on the Luas last year, according to recent figures.

In 2013 there were 677 public order offences, and a number of prosecutions are currently with the gardai. Staff and passengers were also subjected to abusive behaviour on 199 occasions.

In 2012 there were 250 incidences of abuse, including members of the public receiving "serious verbal threats" and inspectors being spat on.

hnews@herald.ie

Online Editors