THE producer of a popular talk radio show who was pelted with rocks by a gang of young thugs in Hartstown during an Easter promotion has vowed to return to the area.
Jeremy Dixon and three female staff from FM104’s Phoneshow were handing out free Easter eggs to locals on Holy Thursday as part of an annual giveaway organised by the station when they were confronted by the gang.
The young thugs, both male and female, demanded Easter eggs and responded with threats and violence when told there had been a big queue and that the crew were finished and were leaving the area.
They pelted the three FM104 cars with rocks and karate kicked the side of one, breaking a wing mirror in the process. Dixon confronted one of the ringleaders and tried to reason with him but to no avail and the terrified crew were forced to flee the area and cancel another giveaway planned for later that night.
Shortly after the attack two of the brazen youngsters even rang the station to brag about the incident. However, Dixon told Northside People that the station won’t be beaten by
“mindless thugs
? and they plan to return to Hartstown in the future.
“We’ve discussed the issue with management and fully intend to revisit the area on a regular basis,
? he said.
“We have no plans to stop carrying out promotions in west Dublin. West Dublin is a key listenership area for FM104.
“We are well aware that this was an isolated incident carried out by a handful of mindless thugs. The vast majority of people in the area were more than welcoming and came out in their thousands to receive the FM104 Easter eggs.
?
Every Christmas and Easter the station’s Phoneshow staff hand out free selection boxes or Easter eggs in random areas and listeners have to tune in to find out where the drop off point is.
On Holy Thursday it was decided to pick Hartstown on the Northside and Sandyford on the Southside for this year’s Easter giveaway.
“It was all going swimmingly at first,
? recalled Dixon.
“We were there for about 50 minutes on the Hartstown Road handing out the eggs when this gang came across the road from one of the neighbouring estates, just when we were about to leave, demanding we give them eggs.
?
The gang, aged between 12-14, started threatening the radio station crew and Dixon told the female staff to pack up and get ready to go. However, as they were leaving the gang started throwing rocks at the cars.
“I got out to tell them to stop because I was afraid the windscreen was going to come in on top of us,
? Dixon told Northside People.
“One of the gang, a lad aged about 14, came up and squared up to me and started telling me if I didn’t get back into the car he’d drag me across the field and kill me.
“I didn’t want to take any chances because he had his hand in one of his pockets and I was afraid that he could have been carrying a blade or something. I jumped back into the car and more stones started getting pelted. One of the rocks narrowly missed my head as I was getting back into the car.
?
As the crew tried to leave, one of the gang started karate kicking the side of the car and broke a wing mirror.
“My immediate concern was for the three girls because they were badly shaken up,
? Dixon added.
“I was fairly badly shaken myself, but not as bad as they were because I’ve dealt with things like this before. We got out of there straight away and I sent an email to my management as soon as we got back to the office to tell them to call the police.
“We cancelled the Southside Easter egg drop even though I didn’t want the thugs to get their own way.
?
Staff at the station decided to donate the remaining Easter eggs to Our Lady’s Hospital in Crumlin. And despite the ordeal, they remain determined to return to the area.
“It was a small minority of people and it won’t stop us,
? promised Dixon.
“Everybody who pulled up in their cars that night for the Easter eggs were the nicest people you could meet. It’s an isolated incident.
“We’ll be back to Hartstown. There’s no question about it.