A Wicklow man is being praised as the hero who first pulled the knife attacker from a child outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire school during Thursday’s shocking attack in central Dublin, after his wife posted his story on social media.
Warren Donohoe, from Baltinglass in Wicklow, was visiting Dublin for the day with his family, for his daughter Abigail’s birthday, when they witnessed the terrifying attack, and ran to help, she said.
Heroic Warren went to tackle the attacker, while Abigail, who was celebrating her 11th birthday, rushed to the Rotunda hospital to get help, the Irish Mirror reports.
In a social media post, Warren’s wife Stacey said that her husband had struggled with the man, and pulled him away from the children being attacked, while Brazilian man Caio Benicio, also appeared at the scene and hit the attacker with his helmet.
In interviews given to the media, Mr Benicio said he dismounted his bike when he saw the little girl being attacked and used his helmet to hit the attacker. There have been calls to give the freedom of the city to the Deliveroo driver.
Mr Donohoe’s wife has shared images of her husband’s torn Adidas jumper, writing alongside the post that her children remain traumatised from seeing the violent incident, as she described it as “the worst day” of her life, adding: “I can’t get the sight out of my head.”
“If Warren and Alan and the man on the bike were not there, all of [those] children would have been killed. I will never get the image out of my head,” Stacey Power Donohoe added. She said in a social media post that despite the trauma inflicted by the incident, she believes the family found themselves “there for a reason.”
Praise and gratitude has poured in for Mr Donohoe online, with hundreds of people expressing well wishes and thanking the dad for his bravery.
“We need a lot more men like Warren,” one person posted on social media, while someone else added: “Thankfully there were many heroes yesterday.”
“Thanks so much to your brave husband. He deserves just as much credit,” one lady wrote.
“Your husband deserves the highest bravery award,” one comment read. “Well done Warren, we need a lot more men like you in this world,” another female user said.
Speaking to Dublin Live, Stacey detailed how the harrowing scenes unfolded on Thursday afternoon, explaining: “I saw what looked like a woman and a man fighting across the road. And I said to the kids, come close and stand beside me.
“And then I just, I saw him just grabbing the child and stabbing her.”
She detailed how she raised the alarm with her husband, continuing: “I screamed. I said, ‘Warren, he’s stabbing her! He’s stabbing the child.’
“And Warren ran straight across the road. He didn’t even think.”
“I was trying to get the baby out of the pram. And my mam’s partner ran across as well. He fell in the middle of the road running, trying to get over to help.
“Warren attacked the man, pulling the man away from the child. And then the Brazilian man came. His bike fell, and he came over.”
She said that while her husband was unharmed, he was “sore all over” and did not speak for the whole day. Meanwhile, her mother’s partner is still in hospital after he fell on the road trying to help, she said.
A Go Fund Me set up for Warren describes him as the “unsung hero of Dublin,” and has so far raised almost €5,000, with people donating in an expression of thanks.
Reports of Warren’s bravery comes as French teenager Alan Loren-Guille (17) has come to the fore as another hero in Thursday’s attack.
The young man was on his way to work as a waiter at Spitalfields restaurant in south central Dublin when he came across the incident outside the Dublin school. The courageous teenager acted quickly to intervene, according to a social media post on his employer, Spitalfields Restaurant in Dublin.
French newspaper Le Figaro reports that French president Emmanuel Macron called him personally to “congratulate him and thank him for his act of bravery which helped save lives and which makes us all proud.”
A spokesman for the president said: “We salute the courage of our compatriot, who helped put an end to the attack perpetrated by an assailant in Dublin yesterday.
“We also send our thoughts to the victims of this attack and their families. We stand with Ireland and the Irish people.”
In a social media tribute to Mr Loren-Guille, the Michelin-starred Spitalfields restaurant, where Alan is a trainee chef, praised the teenager as a “super hero.”
“17 year old super hero Alan Loren-Guille who was one of the brave hero’s that managed to disarm the school children attacker yesterday in Dublin on his way to work. He is one of our brilliant French stagiaires in the kitchen @spitalfields_dublin.
“He noticed something happening as he passed by and selflessly jumped in to stop the attacker and managed to wrestle the knife off him. He was fairly unscathed but for a couple a cuts to his hand and face. Without this act of bravery who knows what else might have happened.
“Our prayers are with the poor children, families and teachers who were affected by this tragedy. Please lookout for one and other. Not all superheroes wear capes,” the Dublin restaurant wrote on social media.