Off The Rails star Brendan Courtney speaks out following homophobic attack

The presenter of Off The Rails, Brendan Courtney, has spoken out after being punched in the face in what he believes is a homophobic attack in Dublin.

The attack which took place in the early hours after he left a night club made headlines in Ireland after the star appeared at the Irish Film And Television Awards sporting a black eye.

He told the Irish Independent: “I was walking home on George’s Street with a group of friends after a club night in Andrews Lane. It was about two or three in the morning.

“Some guy in his early 20s came up to me with a group of friends and punched me full force in the face. He ran off with his friends before we could get him.”

The incident is currently being investigated by the police who are examining CCTV footage recovered from the night.

Courtney added: “I felt very threatened. I have lived in Dublin city for a long time and I’d be very careful, but how do you prepare for someone running up to you out of nowhere and hitting you straight in the face? It’s absolutely disgraceful that in this day and age some people think it’s still acceptable to behave in this way.”

Last year, he revealed that he suffered from homophobic bullying while at school: “It was physical and verbal because I was obviously gay. But I’m a very forceful person and I just stopped going to school. Then I was caught and I said, ‘Sort them out or I’m not going back in’. I changed schools and I was really popular at the new one, I kind of reinvented myself.”