A 41-YEAR-OLD IRISHMAN is fighting for his life after being attacked in the Australian capital of Canberra in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Canberra Times said the Irish citizen, who has not been named, was knocked unconscious during the incident which took place at around 5:30am local time at the corner of Northbourne Avenue and Alinga Street, in the city’s Civic district.

CCTV footage taken from a nearby convenience store, outside which the man was found, showed that he had been alone when he was punched in the head.

Police sources told the paper that the attack was not racially motivated, and that employees from the store had reported seeing a group of five or six men in the area shortly before the attack.

The Irishman was brought to Canberra Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery immediately, ABC News reported. He remained in a critical condition there last night, and police described his condition as “unresponsive”.

The area is usually quite busy at that hour on a Sunday morning, as a taxi rank is located nearby.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the Irish embassy in Canberra has been offering assistance to the injured man’s family.