This is a horrific story.
A man, falsely identified as a sex offender, was left shaken and afraid over the weekend when he was pursued by a vigilante mob in Monasterevin, Kildare.
Gardaí were forced to intervene when locals formed the mob and pursued an innocent man, named David Murray, around the town and accused him of being a known sex offender.
KildareNow published an article on Friday regarding the concerns of parents in Monasterevin and in the locality that Anthony Luckwill, a convicted sex offender, had been spotted in the area.
In the article, the publication published a police mugshot of Anthony Luckwill. But, in the comment section under the article on Facebook, somebody posted a picture of David Murray and alleged that he was a sex offender.
Murray was confronted by locals in Monasterevin with abuse being hurled in the street and a mob following him around the town, even though there’s no suggestion Murray had done anything wrong.
Eventually, the Gardaí had to come and escort Murray from the town after the mob had pursued him through the town and into a local pub.
Speaking with Shane Beatty on Monday morning’s edition of Kildare Today on KFM, Murray said that he hasn’t slept for 40 hours and is severely shaken and upset by the incident.
Murray revealed that when he took refuge from the mob in the pub, a man followed him inside and proceeded to take pictures of him.
“While I was in that pub,” Murray said. “One of the ringleaders came into the pub and repeatedly took pictures of me on his mobile phone.
“Acting as if I was completely guilty.
“My main concern is that those images taken in that pub, are going to be directly linked to the name Anthony Luckwill, spread across social media and used by any person in the future who has seen them, to either blacken my name or confront me about being Anthony Luckwill.
“I am not Anthony Luckwill. My name is David Murray, I’m a government employee and I’m at least four years older than Anthony Luckwill and much more solidly built.
“If Anthony Luckwill had been in Kildare, mob vigilante justice is never the answer. Contact Gardaí, let them deal with it,” Murray added.
Murray also spoke of the scene outside when the Gardaí came to ensure he could leave the pub safely.
“I was then taken into the back of the patrol car in front of at least 30 people standing on the Dublin Road outside Finlay’s pub,” Murray said.
At this stage the Gardaí had informed the public that this wasn’t Anthony Luckwill, but the crowd didn’t seem to believe that Gardaí as they waited outside the pub. Murray feared for his safety at times during the ordeal.
“I looked at social media,” Murray said, “The reports are that I was arrested by Gardaí as Anthony Luckwill and taken away in the back of the Garda car. The truth is, I needed the Gardaí to protect me from the residents of Monasterevin, to ensure my safety. [The mob] recklessly endangered my safety based on evidence that turned out to be completely false.”
You can listen to David Murray’s full interview here…
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