A councillor who was struck in the face during a random daylight attack in Dublin city has said she is more determined than ever to campaign for women's safety.
Social Democrats Dublin City councillor Cat O'Driscoll was punched two weeks ago while on her way to a canvass.
Said she was "simply walking along the street listening to a podcast on my headphones" on her way to a canvass shortly before 6pm.
She saw from the corner of her eye that a man was working towards her.
"I did have my eyesight slightly down looking out for dog waste," she said.
Ms O'Driscoll then "felt an incredible force" into the side of her temple.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, She said she thinks she heard the man say something before the attack but she had headphones on.
The "significant hit" caused her glasses to fly off her face but she managed not to fall over.
"My headphones fell back and got stuck in my scarf," she said.
She said she managed not to fall over but the force was "significant".
Afterwards, Ms O'Driscoll said she was "very startled in the middle of the street".
She said she had not "made eye contact with this man" or "felt unsafe".
"He just kept walking," she said, adding: "I don't think he even broke his stride."
She said the man "strolled away" and "didn't even run away".
The councillor said she did not know she was sore at the time but she had a bump on her head the next day.
"I hope that's still the way Dublin is."
A woman who was waiting for a green light rolled down her window to ask Ms O'Driscoll if she was okay and told her to call the gardaí.
Ms O'Driscoll immediately started looking for her phone but said she really needed someone to "ground her" at the time because she was "startled and shocked".
No one else stepped into help, she said, even though there were lots of people around.
"I don't know if it was because it was so fast or if people didn't see it," she said.
"I would hope that anyone who finds themselves in any kind of difficulty, even tripping on the street, could rely on people around them to offer them assistance.
"I hope that's still the way Dublin is."
Said she shouted an expletive at the man due to the "rage that came up immediately", but added that the details are "genuinely a little bit foggy".
"I think he told me where to go," she added.
"I would not recognise his face," she said. "When I am walking around Dublin, he could walk past me and I'm not sure I'd recognise him."
She said she found gardaí who responded to the incident very helpful.
"It took me a few days to really recognise the impact on me," she said.
Ms O'Driscoll said she is determined the attack will "not stop her from being out and about".
However, she said she definitely has "creeping thoughts coming in" of "is that him".
The councillor said she wants to protect women in her role and that most of the violence caused on women is cause by men.
She has encouraged her male male counterparts to start "leading a conversation on why violence is happening so prevalently".
Meanwhile, as a councillor for Cabra/Glasnevin, Ms O'Driscoll said she is looking at how infrastructure needs to change to make Dublin safer.
