Irish Olympian Jack Woolley was left covered in blood after a sickening attack in Dublin on Friday night.
Woolley was on a night out in the capital with friends when he was set upon by strangers in the Grattan Bridge area shortly before 1am.
The Tallaght man – who was Ireland’s first ever competitor in taekwondo at an Olympic games – posted horrifying pictures of himself with blood all over his clothes.
Woolley ended up in St James’ Hospital, where he was treated for his horrific wounds, before later revealing that he would need plastic surgery.
Jack said on Instagram: "So basically, I was crossing over the road and there was a load of people, and they just punched me in the mouth."
The 22-year-old had just returned to training following the Tokyo Olympic Games before heading out for a night out with friends in the capital.
Woolley was one of Team Ireland's top prospects in Japan, but was left disappointed after an early exit.
He was defeated by Argentina’s Lucas Guzman in the early rounds, and vowed to come back stronger as he targets a tilt at a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games.
Jack's distraught mother Annette appealed for witnesses to come forward to help gardai catch her son’s assailants.
Referring to photos of Jack before and after the assault she said: “From looking on point to two minutes later from a horror movie.
“Still waiting on surgery on his mouth but surgeon says it’ll be a small scar.
“The scumbag said ‘sorry wrong person’ before running off.”
She added: “I never worry about Jack in the ring because even though it’s a full contact sport it is controlled and safety is a big deal...
“But one innocent sober night out before he starts back training and he needs facial surgery because some randomer without any provocation decides to pummel his face in.”
A garda spokesman said: "Gardaí attended the scene of an assault that occurred on Grattan Bridge, Dublin 1 at approximately 12:40am today, Saturday, 14th August 2021.
"One man, aged in his 20s, was conveyed to St James’s Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries sustained during the incident.
"No arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing."
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