RTÉ producer 'burst into tears' after homophobic incident on Dublin street

An RTÉ producer has revealed details of homophobic harassment she allegedly faced while sitting outside a pub on a Dublin City street. 

Kate Brennan-Harding posted a one minute video about the experience on her personal Twitter page yesterday (July 6), stating, "Being a person like me walking around the city I love and just enjoying time to myself and I’ve to deal with this shit? Dublin is not safe for people like me, in broad daylight, 4.45pm." 

According to Brennan-Harding, who is a radio producer and broadcaster at RTÉ, she was sitting outside holding seats for a post-work celebration when three men walked over to her and tried to sit in the seats. 

The men then reportedly proceeded to verbally harass her by using homophobic language. 

Brennan-Harding said she was left crying and shaking after they eventually walked off. 

Being a person like me walking around the city I love and just enjoying time to myself and I’ve to deal with this shit? Dublin is not safe for people like me, in broad daylight, 4.45pm pic.twitter.com/GEbrIVtFrq

— Kate Brennan-Harding (@KateBHdj) July 6, 2023

In the video, she said, "I'm just so fed up with this shit and it's just happening all the time. Yeah they didn't hit me, but it's intimidating and you're on your own and you're just fucking existing." 

The radio personality's experience was met with both support and scepticism on Twitter. 

In a response to a commenter, she said, "I’ve just been sitting outside a pub in City centre, a group of young men harassed me after I told them I was sitting at the seats they were trying to take over. They called me all sorts of homophobic names & stood over me. This is at 4.45 on a Thursday. I want my Dublin back." 

She also tweeted: "One of the main off shoots of the rise in homophobia is that my poor mum is worried sick whenever I just go out and do normal everyday things. As a 42 year old I don’t want this to be causing my mother worry." 

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, later referenced the alleged incident on RTÉ Primetime during a discussion on the controversial Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022. 

Responding to host Sarah McInerney, she said, "Can I give you an example, actually, a very real example that I would see as reaching the bar. This evening about three hours ago on Twitter I saw a video from a woman who was sitting today in Dublin minding her ow business holding seats for her friends, when three men of whatever age, I don't know, came over tried to take her seats and she clearly said they were being saved.

"They started I think the only word is verbally assaulting, and I won't repeat what was said to her, because of the perception of who she was because of one of the protected characteristics we have outlined here. She wasn't physically assaulted but she was verbally assaulted and in public. More than one person inciting eachother and potentially inciting others to continue in that same way." 

“We're updating legislation that isn't workable”

Helen McEntee defines and clarifies the governments hate speech bill. #RTEPT pic.twitter.com/YkjizHeZnc

— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) July 6, 2023

When asked why there is no definition of 'hatred' in the proposed Hate Crime Legislation, Minister McEntee said, "So this isn't the first time this has been brought to my attention, this is something we've worked through engaging with the former Attorney General, the current Attorney General, looking at other countries, what they do, how they define it, looking at ways at which we could define it if we were going to do it, and time and time again the advice that has come back to me [is] by defining hate you potentially make the bill unworkable. 

"And obviously what we're doing here in terms of hatred and hate speech is we're updating legislation that isn't workable. In the 1989 Act, which we're updating, the term 'hate' is not defined, it's commonly understood and to change that would actually create more complexities in the new legislation."