Corkonian in Sydney: 'We are all in shock' following terror attack 

A Cork man living close to Bondi Beach has expressed his shock at the mass shooting in an area which is so full of Irish that some call Bondi the “33rd county”.

Construction worker Jean-Noel Murphy, who is originally from Bishopstown, says he visits the beach every week and would often be on the balcony of the Pavilion Hotel — which overlooks the bridge from which two men launched the attack.

“They call Bondi the 33rd county because it’s where all the Irish go,” he said. “This might as well have happened in Kinsale. We often go down there to watch the sun rise.

“It was a place where everyone came together from around the world but the shooters have taken all that away. It’s really sad.

“I wasn’t there when it happened but it’s a place I know very well. I worked on a renovation right on Bondi Beach, across the road from the bridge where the shooting happened.

“The Pavilion Hotel directly overlooks this, so if I was on the balcony, I would have been looking directly at the shooters.

“It’s a big thing to go down to Bondi Beach on a Sunday, have a few beers and watch the sunset. We are all in shock. It has hit home for all of us because there is such a large community of Jewish people in Bondi." 

He described the sense of shock locally: “I had lived in Bondi since 2002 and only moved to Little Bay, which is a little further away from Bondi, because it is quieter. 

"Everyone celebrates Christmas Day in Bondi, but it’s going to be very different now.”

Upon hearing about yesterday’s attack, he said the first thing he did was text friends to make sure they were okay: “We have been watching the news all night. This is going to hit home for anyone who is Irish. It has tarnished a place where everyone goes.

“You meet Brazilians, French, the English, the Irish, the Germans, people of all nationalities can be found at Bondi Beach. It’s a place where everyone comes together. Now, there is a sense of it not being safe anymore.”