Popular Dublin drag queen injured in unprovoked homophobic attack on Dame Street

Alexis McQueen, who is one of the resident drag queens at The George on nearby George's Street, was with fellow drag performers Anita Hero and Grainne Kneez when a gang of men confronted them and verbally abused them.

The drag queens were then set upon and attacked by the gang outside what is referred to as the ‘Gay Spar’ on the corner of both streets on Tuesday night.

According to Anita Hero, who shared the horrifying story of what happened in an Instagram story post, Grainne Kneez was in drag and Alexis McQueen had dressed down but still had her makeup on when they were followed out of the shop by the gang.

Alexis suffered cuts to her head when she stood between her friends and the men harassing them and was hit by glass.

An ambulance was called to the scene as she was left with injuries to the back of her head.

Alexis warned people who were members of the LGBTQI+ community to be careful when they're out and about in Dublin city, while thanking well-wishers for their messages.

She 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."

In August a Dublin man was left with a bloodied face after being attacked by homophobic thugs. Mark Sheehan, 26, was on his way home from the city centre on the number 15 bus when the horrific attack took place.

According to gcn.ie, this attack is the latest in what appears to be an escalation of anti-LGBTQ+ violence in Dublin and across the country, prompting the community to call for urgent hate crime legislation.

Half of all Ireland's reported hate crimes last year occurred in Dublin, prompting the introduction of the new bill that will create for the first time in Ireland specific hate crime offences.

It is being presented to the Dáil with a commitment from government that it will be signed into law before the end of the year.

This new Bill, which will also cover “extreme forms of hate speech”, proposes a number of important changes to the General Scheme of the Bill published in April 2021.

Among these is the expansion of the list of protected characteristics, which now includes: race; colour; nationality; religion; national or ethnic origin; descent; gender; sex characteristics; sexual orientation; and disability.