Six gardai among 14 people taken to hospital

The injured: All 14 people, including six gardaí, who were injured during the rioting on Saturday have been discharged from …

The injured: All 14 people, including six gardaí, who were injured during the rioting on Saturday have been discharged from hospital.

The injured were taken to the Mater Hospital with minor injuries such as cuts and bruises.

Six gardaí were among the injured taken to A&E. Another of those hurt was RTÉ journalist Charlie Bird who has to have surgery on his cheekbone on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman at the Mater said yesterday: "All those brought to hospital had minor injuries, and all but one were discharged on Saturday. Only one patient was kept in overnight and that was a female garda who was discharged today."

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There were many walking wounded. Members of the media were targeted by the rioters. Cameramen and photographers were singled out for missile attacks and many suffered cuts.

One cameraman had blood streaming from a cut on the back of his head where he was hit by a missile.

Charlie Bird arrived in O'Connell Street at about 12.50pm. He rang the office to describe what he was seeing.

He was in the same area as the rioters and decided to walk down towards the GPO for safety.

"All of a sudden, a man roared: 'You're an Orange bastard, Charlie Bird' or something like that and started to punch me. I fell to the ground and was bleeding," he told The Irish Times. "I eventually got up and started to run down Lower Abbey Street but I fell again and he was following me."

He said the man continued to punch him and although somebody was trying to pull him away, he punched him again.

At this stage Bird said he was screaming for gardaí and for help. Then two gardaí, who he thought were Special Branch, rescued him and took him into a shop. An ambulance then arrived.

"So within 10 minutes of arriving in O'Connell Street I was in an ambulance on my way to hospital," said Bird.

Although he was discharged later from hospital, he is suffering the effects. "I am very, very sore from the punching and falling. I have to see a specialist who will do something to my cheekbone. The cheekbone is pushed in as he punched it with such force and you can see an indentation there so I have to have some sort of surgery."

He said the rioters were definitely targeting journalists.

After the disturbances 41 people were arrested, mainly accused of public order offences, in different parts of the city centre including O'Connell Street, Aston Quay, Temple Bar and South Leinster Street.

Of those, 13 people between the ages of 17 and 30 were charged and appeared at a special sitting of Dublin District Court in the Bridewell on Saturday night.

Those arrested were taken to city centre Garda stations, where some of the remaining 28 were released without charge and others were bailed to appear in court at a later date.