Gardaí have yet to identify the man left in a critical condition after an assault in Dublin's Temple Bar in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The man, who was attacked by two men on Cope Street, was discovered unconscious and brought to Beaumont Hospital where his condition is described as critical.
Gardaí said the man has a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm. They have described it as a blue and white flag with the words "Ceol is Beatha".
They are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the victim as they have been unable to speak to him and do not know who he is or his age as he had no identification - such as a driver's licence or bank cards - on him.
Watch: 'Ireland is a safe country', Garda Commissioner says after Temple Bar assault
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the attack as a "really serious incident", and said that a senior investigating officer has been assigned to the case.
Speaking in Macroom, he also said that Dublin is a safe city, but that "unfortunately there will always be incidents like this".
"This is just the nature of big cities. Dublin is a safe city, Ireland is a safe country, many of the reports like the Global Peace Index, you can see how safe Ireland is on that. We're currently sitting number 2 on the safest countries list".
"We’ve assigned a very experienced senior investigating officer to it, the serious crime team in the South Central Division in Dublin are pouring all the resources needed towards that.
"We have a really good track record in identifying perpetrators and bringing them to justice so I would certainly hope that we will see positive results around that."
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said that there had been a greater feeling of safety in the city following the recent increasing of garda patrols in the area.
He also appealed for anyone with information on Wednesday morning’s assault to contact gardaí.
"The important thing is that the culprits are brought to justice and punished for the vicious crime that we saw," he said.
Call for more gardaí on the streets
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Aston Quay and Temple Bar Business and Residents Alliance has called for more gardaí on the streets in Temple Bar.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Stephen Kennedy said that attacks in the area are "very upsetting" and people's lives are often ruined.
Mr Kennedy, who owns Copper and Straw coffee shop in Temple Bar, said that there has been "significant improvement" regarding anti-social behaviour in the area over the last 12 to 14 months. However he warned that they "can't get complacent".
He said that when he first opened his Aston Quay store over three years ago, the situation was "particularly challenging" and they were reporting drug dealing and anti-social behaviour issues to gardaí "almost on an hourly basis".
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"I think there's a new approach to public order policing in the city centre," he said. "There are more guards on the street - there still aren't enough but there are more."
Mr Kennedy said that there are high visibility foot patrols in areas in Temple Bar where there are high rates of anti-social behaviour.
He also said that gardaí carry out standing stops, where they wait "on a street corner or in an area with high rates of anti-social behaviour and effectively acts as a look out and deterrent for 20 minutes".
"Measures like that have been really effective, that's the feedback from our group. We are seeing the benefit of that."
While there has been progress, Mr Kennedy said that more resourcing is needed.
"Our message isn't that the situation is resolved - it's not. The city centre is a complex, challenging place to live, to work and to run a business.
"It's important to acknowledge the progress over the last while but we just can't be complacent," he said.
"We're really calling for more resourcing in the city centre.
"More guards on the street, certainly in places like Temple Bar, which is such a busy part of the city centre and such an important part for our tourist offering. Every time you turn a street corner in Temple Bar you do need to see a guard, it's that important and that simple."
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