Gardai investigating an assault of Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon have arrested a man.
The man, aged in his 50s, was detained in Dublin earlier on Thursday and is being held at Kevin Street Garda Station for questioning.
A statement said: “Gardaí have arrested an individual in relation to an alleged assault that occurred on Cork Street, Dublin 8 on Wednesday 16th September 2026.
“Further updates to follow in due course.”
Earlier, Mr Healy-Rae said he will not be deterred from doing his work following the incident on Wednesday, which took place while he was stopped in traffic on Cork St in Dublin city centre shortly after 4pm on Wednesday.
At the time of the incident, Mr Healy-Rae was on the phone with his son, Jackie Healy-Rae Jr.
In a statement issued on Thursday, he thanked the gardaí at Kevin Street Garda Station, the ambulance crew and all the staff at St Vincent’s Hospital for the care and assistance they had given him.
“I am also deeply grateful to the thousands of people from Kerry and across the country who have contacted me and my family. Your kindness and good wishes have meant a great deal to us.
“Whatever the intention behind this attack, I will not be deterred from continuing my work or from representing the people of Kerry to the very best of my ability.
“However, we do need to have a serious conversation about the growing toxicity directed towards politicians and public representatives. Disagreement and robust political debate are entirely legitimate, but personal abuse, intimidation and violence can never be accepted or normalised in a democratic society.
“I’m back in Kerry, I look forward to getting back to work in the coming days and trust the gardaí will find the perpetrator and bring him to justice.”
It is understood Mr Healy-Rae had left Leinster House and was stopped at traffic lights on Cork Street in central Dublin on Wednesday afternoon when the altercation occurred.
It is alleged that an individual started shouting at the TD before approaching his car.
Danny Healy-Rae, Michael’s brother, said that he had been “hit in the window”.
Speaking in the Dáil, he said the incident involving Michael had affected him deeply.
“It is something that is hurting me, as much as anyone else.
“These shouldn’t happen to public representatives. [Do] we get elected to hit a fella in the window without being able to defend himself?
“I hope you’ll be alright before morning, and that you be OK tomorrow.”
Mr Healy-Rae’s son, Jackie Healy-Rae Jr, said it was lucky that his father’s injuries were not “too serious”.
“I could hear everything that was happening… I could hear someone shouting from a distance and then an awful commotion. It turned to chaos,” he told Radio Kerry this morning.
Gardaí from Kevin Street station responded to the scene shortly after 4pm. Mr Healy-Rae was subsequently taken to Kevin Street Garda Station before being brought by ambulance to St Vincent’s University Hospital.
Sources close to Mr Healy-Rae said he was moved from his own vehicle into a garda car and brought to Kevin Street station to wait for an ambulance.
Mr Healy-Rae was released from hospital late on Wednesday.
Gardaí said the man was approached and assaulted by a lone male while stopped in traffic.
“The injured man was brought to Kevin Street station, where he received medical treatment. His injuries are not life-threatening,” gardaí said.
“No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses, particularly anyone who may have camera footage from the area at the time, to contact them.”
The Taoiseach has described the attack on Mr Healy Rae as “completely shocking”.
Micheál Martin said that the attack had left the Kerry TD “quite shook” with a “considerable number of stitches”.
He said that Mr Healy Rae had never been involved in a physical altercation before and that it was concerning that such a level of violence would be used.
“For any individual in such a scenario, when the car window was down, you’re at a traffic lightand someone comes and punches you into the mouth and the head. That is very, very serious and concerning. It is, as the minister for justice has said, an attack on democracy.”
The Taoiseach appealed for any witnesses to come forward “so that the person who did this can be brought to justice”.
“There seems to be an increased propensity for violence, for aggression, for hostility in our society, and that’s something that’s hugely regrettable. And there’s a lot of work to do to pull back. It’s not universal across the board, but certain elements are emerging who see that sort of aggressive, hostile way up to physically assaulting as acceptable. We never had this before in our society and our democracy, which is relatively unusual in the sense that members of parliament and the government can walk on our streets and this is a significant moment that we can have to contend with.”
Commissioner Michael McGrath, who has responsibility for democracy and rule of law, told the Irish Examiner at the National Ploughing Championship that attacks such as the one on Mr Healy-Rae could deter people from entering politics.
He said he was “shocked” to hear what had happened, and that it was not acceptable that any member of the public would be assaulted.
“Any attack on an elected representative is an attack on democracy,” the Cork Commissioner said.
“My real concern is that such attacks can act as a deterrent to good people offering themselves for public life and may actually force people who are in public life to decide to exit.
“Our politics and our democracy would be all the poorer as a result.”
Mr McGrath said that the European Commission has a “role to play” and will provide updated recommendations on safety in politics as part of its “Democracy Shield”.
He also noted how abuse in politics particularly affects women and people from minorities.
He continued: “As the incident [with Michael Healy-Rae] proved, nobody is immune from the possibility of such attacks.”
Agriculture minister Martin Heydon, who previously worked with Mr Healy-Rae while he was a junior minister in the Department of Agriculture, also expressed concerns about the knock-on impacts such incidents can have on politics.
“I feel strongly [that] if we as politicians don’t stand up and defend politics…. We have that obligation to ensure that good people continue to put themselves forward from all political backgrounds for public office,” he said.
“When things like this happen, it worries me that it would put off people who are thinking of running for politics in the future from doing so.
“That’s why we, as politicians, all have to have a zero tolerance for this. We all need to work together to show that in society this is not acceptable.
“In a democracy, people who put themselves forward for public office should not be targeted, and if they are, there should be very serious consequences.”
Elsewhere at the Ploughing, public expenditure minister Jack Chambers warned that there have been killings of politicians in other countries, including Jo Cox in the UK.
“We’re seeing a huge coarsening of a broader debate online, and that’s spilling now over now onto our streets with the incident Michael Healy-Rae,” the Fianna Fáil deputy leader said.
“We need to continue to call out hate and call out those who engage in any sort of violence on our streets, and I hope the gardaí conclude their investigation.
“I think this has a broader impact on encouraging people to enter public life when they see hardworking public representatives assaulted doing their job.”