Boxer Thomas Carty has said he was refused entry to a nightclub after he and his two friends mentioned they were from north inner city Dublin. 

Mr Carty is a well known and respected boxer but his sporting reputation did not protect him from being discriminated against on account of his accent. 

It is something he has been forced to put up with for many years. 

“To be honest, considering where I’m from, considering where I’m from, it’s been happening all my life, even as a teenager,” he told Lunchtime Live. 

Mr Carty does not go out often and rarely drinks but headed out on Sunday with two friends. 

They queued up in the rain and when the bouncer heard their accents, went to consult his boss.

“The owner came back and he was chatting to me,” he said. 

“He asked me a range of questions and from the answers he gave me he said, ‘I can’t do anything for you.’  

“That was the reply I got.” 

DDGEA1 Crowd of people with hands up having fun at a nightclub / music concert or festival.

One of the questions was where the friends were from - to which Mr Carty replied Phibsborough and Whitehall. 

He described his friends as “very respectful young lads” and said he himself was sober when they arrived at the club. 

“I’ve never been in trouble anywhere - nevermind in Dublin - on any night ever,” he said.  

“It seems to be, as soon as I mentioned the north inner city, straight away, ‘No, can’t do anything for you.’”

Mr Carty recognises that bouncers have a difficult job but says that the “stigma” displayed towards people from inner city Dublin is unwarranted. 

Main image: Thomas Carty. Picture by: Taka G Wu/Alamy Live News