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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Christine Carrigan

Belfast busker attacked by woman while singing in city centre

This is the shocking moment a busker was attacked in Belfast city centre on Saturday afternoon.

John Garrity was standing at his usual spot on Royal Avenue when a woman started verbally abusing him before breaking his equipment and kicking over his money bucket.

John was singing Grace, a love song about Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett who was executed for playing a role in the 1916 Eater Rising, and he believes the woman took offence to the song.

John told Belfast Live: "I am in total shock. She had actually come over to me an hour before that and threatened me and was giving me really bad abuse but then she moved on.

"Then when she came back I was worried that she was going to physically attack me but I could do nothing but stand there. Even if she had physically punched the head off me I wouldn't have been able to do anything because I am a man, so I just stood back.

"I am disgusted that it has happened. I have been here for a year now and have never had any trouble but this past week Belfast has been like a different city.

Busker John Garrity attacked in Belfast City Centre 2

"I sing about what people relate to and she took offence to the song. Bitter people conceive it as a Republican song but that isn't the case, it's a love song - Rod Stewart covered it and it went huge for him.

"I'm just so dissapointed. The first thing I do when I set up is crowd build, and there is usually a lot of tourists because they love my pop stuff. When she left, the first thing I did was apologise because I didn't want the tourists to get the wrong impression of Belfast.

"The support from the crowd was outstanding. I honestly can't thank them enough for helping me."

The 28-year-old, who is originally from the village of Trillick in Co Tyrone , insisted he won't be put off from performing in the city centre.

He added: "I have nobody up here, I am one of four and we are tight knit family. They have been messaging me to come home since they heard about what happened but I'm not going.

"I have work to do and I am not going to be put off, I moved to Belfast to focus on my music career and it is going well.

"It was scary but I am the kind of person that if I don't face it tomorrow then it will take me a long time. So I will be on Royal Avenue tomorrow without a doubt."

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