Brianna Parkins has opened up about a recent experience she had in a pub in Kilkenny city.
The 2016 Sydney Rose told Ryan Tubridy this morning, how a night out with her friends last Saturday turned badly. She explained that the night started great and the craic was "medium to high" as they tanned each other's backs at the Airbnb - as you do before a night out
Although that's where it ended, as, within the first ten minutes of entering the first bar, she was grabbed in a headlock by a "massive sort of rugby built dude".
Brianna explained to Ryan that he grabbed her in a headlock with one arm and one of her friends in the other being going "in for the shift".
"It was like being cuddled by an enthusiastic Alsatian just slobbering all over you. He thought it was a scrum, I dunno?"
Ryan quizzed her on the time the incident happened before making the point that "no time is right for that type of behaviour".
Brianna went on to say that "in a perfect world, it would be assault" and it's sad that she's found her desensitised to that now.
"I kind of expect it on a night out".
One thing she didn't expect was how the situation was handled.
"I reacted in a way any normal person would react, grabbed him by the back of the head, reefed him off me and my friend, gave a few solid good shoves for good measure and he kept coming back at us and I just had to keep responding more and more aggressively," she said.
Everyone in the bar turned to look at me as I am the person causing the problem but this bloke had a good 30kg on me - physically, we weren't evenly matched. No one helped, his mates thought it was funny and the bouncer looked at us like they were going to almost consider kicking me out
She then told Ryan that she had to leave the "Kilkenny version of Coppers" as another group of lads kept "dancing on us quite aggressively and trying to cuddle them by putting their arms around them" after she told them to "F off".
At the time, the Australian-based journalist took to Twitter to say that she "shouldn’t have to put with someone’s shitty behaviour in the name of craic"
The bouncers did nothing. No one helped. His mates laughed. He had thirty kilos and about 30cm on me. Next pub similar things happens again. I ask nicely to be left alone because I don’t want want to be a no craic Ciara. The blokes persist.
— Brianna Parkins (@parkinsbrea) February 17, 2019
I have to give them an aggressive fuck off. One gets close to my face and screams “You’re on a night out.” I know I’m having a great time with my mates, before being groped by Guinness farting gobshites.
— Brianna Parkins (@parkinsbrea) February 17, 2019
But the thing is I shouldn’t have to put with someone’s shitty behaviour in the name of craic. I haven’t experienced this level of carry on in Aus (though it probably happens.) I’ve seen more bouncers intervene that’s for sure.
— Brianna Parkins (@parkinsbrea) February 17, 2019
Now I actually really liked Kilkenny as a place. I’ve plans to come back. Maybe the concentration of stags explains our night. But if you’re a bloke and you see your mates doing this, don’t be a gutless wonder and say something.
— Brianna Parkins (@parkinsbrea) February 18, 2019
