A VISUALLY-IMPAIRED man says he plans to move from his home in Co Kerry in protest at the rising levels of anti-social behaviour there.
Tim, a busker and Kerry native, was recently assaulted by two women while he walked his dog with his wife.
Speaking to Cork Today on C103 FM, Tim described how one of the women “started grabbing hold of me and punching out” after his wife had asked her to stop feeding their dog, a Rottweiler.
“We had finished work for the day, we were sat beside a particular establishment in Tralee, and because of our dog’s breed we’re cautious about people touching or feeding her,” he said.
When the attacking woman was asked to stop feeding Tim’s dog she became “verbally abusive and started shaking me around” to the extent that he nearly fell to the ground.
“I didn’t hit her back because I wasn’t brought up that way,” he said.
He said that he doesn’t believe the women knew he was visually-impaired because “I don’t look like I’m visually-impaired”.
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Tim and his wife contacted the gardaí but the two women had absconded by the time they arrived. He said they were between 35 and 40 years old.
“They were local, and they do have issues – I sort of feel sorry for them really,” adding that the women are known to have drug and alcohol problems.
Tim now says he and his wife will move from Tralee as the level of anti-social behaviour in the town is “unacceptable”.
“We’re moving on because it’s not a nice environment to be living in, the anti-social behaviour has just gotten really, really bad now,” he said.
I live in the centre of town, and there’s a public car park nearby which has cider parties and the like going on. I know we were all young once, but I don’t want to be living in that environment.
Tim and his family now plan to move to a more rural area and to buy their own place in the country.
He says the idea of a white cane presenting a target for anti-social behaviour is one that’s familiar to him.
“I’ve had that experience myself. A white cane is supposed to enhance the independence of someone who may be blind or visually-impaired, but for some they just see you as someone to wind up and have a go at,” he said.
He says that the level of bad behaviour in Tralee is worse than in any other place he has been to.
“I can stand outside a shop in Bristol, or in Belfast, and not get any grief,” he said.
They’re totally different to Tralee, and it’s a sad reflection on our society.
I’m not going to be putting up with that, we’re definitely going to move.
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