RTE presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh has revealed details of a mugging in Dublin city centre, where she tackled a thief and helped bring him to the ground.
The tv host was standing in Merrion Square when she heard an Australian tourist shouting that their wallet had been stolen. Bláthnaid saw the thief and without hesitation, ran at him with her laptop bag.
Speaking to the Herald she explained, “It was fight or flight. It was instinctive. Before I knew what was happening I was in the middle of the road in front of him.
“Thank God no cars were coming. I looked totally insane – like a complete mad person.”
Although she didn’t manage to ground the thief herself, another woman did tackle him, and was unfortunately injured by the mugger in the process.
“It was another woman who eventually brought him to the ground. She was also a redhead,” she said.
Despite being a good samaritan, when Bláthnaid returned to her car after the ordeal she was greeted with a not so pleasant surprise.
“After all that drama, I got back to the car to find out I had been bloody clamped. Can you believe it?
“So I had to wait and pay the €80 fine. I said to the clamper, ‘I stopped a robber today’ and he just shrugged and said, ‘You can appeal it if you really want.'”
