A man who remains in a serious condition after he was assaulted in Dublin city centre was beaten up when he tried to stop a mugging, according to eyewitnesses.

The man, in his mid-40s, was set upon by a gang of people believed to be in their late teens/early 20s outside the St Stephen’s Green shopping centre in the early hours of Monday morning after he attempted to aid a foreign student who had his bag stolen and a bottle smashed over his head.

Latest reports suggest the individual who attempted to intervene remains in a “very, very serious condition” in Beaumont Hospital following one of three attacks which took place in the immediate vicinity within the space of 12 hours.

“A man walked up towards me with blood all down his face. He fell down on his knees begging ‘can you please help me, I’ve been mugged’. I looked down towards the Gaiety and I realised someone else was being kicked around,” said the witness, adding that the young international student had his passport and educational certificates stolen by the assailants.

“I ran after them screaming and roaring – there was four of them, two girls and two boys – so then they stopped bashing him and just started to stroll nonchalantly down towards the back of the Stephen’s Green shopping centre.

“The [foreign student] had a wine bottle smashed over his head, and the other guy’s face was all cut up and he was really bloody. I was so angry that it was happening and that it was so unprovoked. And the fact that the guy who was helping the person being mugged ended up in a worse state,” the witness said.

Attempted sexual assault

A man remains in Garda custody this evening following a separate incident in the green itself on Monday afternoon in which a passerby came to the aid of a disabled woman during an attempted sexual assault.

Commenting on the attacks, the chair of the area’s joint policing committee councillor Mannix Flynn said St Stephen’s Green and its environs have now become synonymous with “homelessness, vagrancy, crime and a lot of antisocial behaviour” and called for extra Garda resources to tackle the issues.

“Stephen’s Green is now being used by the homeless, so there’s a lot of violence happening in the park and around the park . . . Criminals are out there, predators are out there, and those who wish to mug you, and they will do you very, very fast.

“Each and every one of the citizens of this city has an obligation for the safety and security of each other and if you see someone with possessions that look like they might be stolen, say it to somebody,” added the Independent councillor, who advised witnesses to attacks to keep their distance and call gardaí rather than get involved themselves.