Gardaí have urged students to contact them if they have been assaulted, following complaints by NUI Galway Students' Union.
The union says there has a "systematic targeting" of students by youths in certain areas of the city this year, which forced 53 students to find alternative accommodation. The most serious incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, when seven students were attacked and one required emergency surgery, according to Mr Shane Cosgrove,union spokesman.
A "campaign of intimidation", which has been "ongoing" for many years, resumed when students returned to college last September, he said.
The NUI Galway Students' Union president, Mr Tony McDonnell, called on the Garda to "clamp down" on these attacks. He said the intimidation and increasing number of petty crimes occurring in student residences left many of his colleagues felling vulnerable, and had shaken their confidence in the Garda.
Ms Áine Kelly, students' union vice-president and welfare officer, said she had to help relocate 53 students in 20 rented houses since last October. "It began with small-scale incidents in certain estates on the west side, where students found they were being followed home, and had things thrown at them. It has escalated, however, and some of these kids are aged only 13."
Supt Donal Ó Cualáin, of Mill Street station, said the gardaí had to wait for a formal report before investigating.
