Dublin Drag Queen injured in Dame Street attack

On Tuesday night in Dublin, a group of well-known drag queens were harassed, and subsequently attacked, by a gang outside a shop on Dame Street.

Alexis McQueen, one of the resident drag queens at The George, suffered injuries to the head after a glass bottle was used to attack her.

McQueen was with fellow drag performers Anita Hero and Grainne Kneez after a performance, when a group of men began verbally attacking the group, using slurs.

Anita Hero posted an Instagram story, speaking about the incident, saying Grainne Kneez was still in drag and Alexis McQueen had dressed down but still had her makeup on when the men confronted them and used homophobic slurs.

The gang followed the three queens out of the shop and proceeded to throw bags of glass at them, which led to Alexis' head wounds as she stood between her friends and the men harassing them. An ambulance had to be called for Alexis due to the severity of her injuries.

Image: Alexis McQueen/Instagram

Yesterday, Alexis thanked people for their well wishes, saying that the LGBTQI+ community need to be careful when they're out in Dublin city.

The performer said: "Got glassed in the head for no reason by a load of scumbags going home last night. Be careful out there when out guys. Just got home I'm grand, could have been worse though. Thanks so much for all the lovely messages and well wishes guys, you're all stars."

This is the most recent in a spate of homophobic attacks around Ireland, particularly in the capital city.

In August, Mark Sheehan, a man from Dublin, was left covered in blood after a homophobic attack. The 26-year-old was on his way home from the city centre on the bus when the attack took place.

Hate crime laws are being introduced in Ireland following this increase in attacks on the LGBTQI+, with the new bill creating specific hate crime offences for the first time.

These laws will be seen as aggravated forms of existing criminal offences - where perpetrators are motivated by prejudice towards a protected characteristic, such as: race, skin colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity and disability.