Book Offer
This will close in 10 seconds
Day three of the trial of Riad Bouchaker has heard evidence from a woman who says she was shopping for “party” items when she saw the suspect in the Parnell Square school stabbing walk close to her, saying, “Shit Irish shit fucking Irish”.
Patricia Byrne said she was in town on the 23rd of November 2023 for a dental appointment, but decided to head for some “charity shops”, thinking she might find what she was looking for.
She said she got off the Luas as she was walking in the area of Mary Street hears someone “quite aggressive” saying, “Shit Irish shit fucking Irish”. Ms Byrne said that she “walked on” and that she saw the man go “in between” what she described as six or seven “English or Scottish” tourists whom she described as “white” before he said, “Shit Irish shit fucking Irish.”
The witness told the court that she said “not funny” because the tourists were “laughing” before she went into a shop and “had a quick glance” before leaving.
After coming out of the shop, she said she saw the same man walk “up to two women with buggies” but that she didn’t know what he said to them.
Ms Byrne described this man as being dressed “all in dark clothes” and that he was “talking quite abusive (sic)”.
Garda Niall Ormsby
Garda Niall Ormsby described recovering a “black handled knife” at the scene about an hour to an hour and a half after the incident.
A number of exhibits were shown to the court, including a “beige” jacket worn by careworker Leanne Flynn, a “pink and turquoise unicorn” school bag, a black children’s jacket with fur, and another black children’s jacket.
Dublin Bus driver
Dublin Bus driver, David Corr, told the court that he had arrived on Parnell Square East at 12:45 for “relief” duty to drive the number 38 bus.
He said that a man had approached him and a colleague and asked where “the school” was before the witness said he pointed towards where it was, saying, “It’s just up there”.
When shown CCTV of the incident, Mr Corr accepted that contrary to his recollection, he had been alone when he was approached by a male in dark clothing. He stated that he was unsure if the man on the CCTV was the same man who had approached him. He said that after he became aware of a “major incident” in the area, he phoned Gardaí to report this interaction.
Electrician
An electrician who was working on refurbishing apartments in the area said that a foreign man approached him and asked him where a school was on the day of the incident. He said that the man had poor English and that, as he was in a hurry and not overly familiar with the area, he had said, “I don’t know, mate.”
He described the man saying, “Excuse me, excuse me! School, where is school?” He said he found the interaction “suspicious” and that he reported it after learning what had taken place later that day.
Receptionist at Delfin English School
A woman who was on reception at the nearby Delphin English School said that a man had come into the school on the day of the incident, around 12:30 pm.
Luciana Yaya said that the man was wearing dark clothing, a “brown” coat, a “dark colour” hat, which she described as a “beanie”, and that she saw a “scar” on his face.
She said the man “didn’t look like the usual person who would come in” and that when she had said, “Sorry, can I help you?”
Ms Yaya said the man ignored her and continued into the building towards a back hall area when she asked him again if he needed help.
She said the man responded, “No worries, I’m waiting for someone,” and that when she asked, “Who are you waiting for?” he responded, “My friend and the kid.”
Ms Yaya said that she told the man that he had the wrong building, as the school was next door and “there are no kids here”.
After the man left, Ms Yaya was having lunch, and she said she became aware that something was amiss as her colleague “Jessica” was “screaming”.
She said one of the language students was trying to communicate something, but that his English wasn’t strong enough.
She described the scenes on the street outside as, People were screaming, this man was lying on the floor covered with blood,” and that her first thought was that there had been a car accident as she could see a motorbike.
Ms Yaya said she heard a woman saying “the kid is dead, the kid is dead”, and “it was chaos”.
“That’s when I saw the little kid over there,” she said, becoming visibly emotional.
“I am very emotional,” she said.
“The Ambulance went to the little kid,” she continued, adding, “some people were trying to hit the person, hit the man on the floor”, and that “some ladies” were trying to stop them, saying, “We don’t do things like that here, we have to wait for the police.”
When she saw the EMT workers sit the man up to try and “reanimate him”, she said this was when she thought it was “the same man who was inside before”.
Mr Bouchaker’s defending counsel challenges her account of having seen a scar on the man’s face in Delfin School, suggesting that this detail had come to her later, arising from discussions with others or a photograph that was circulated on “social media”.
Counsel for the defence asked about the description of the man on the ground as being “covered in blood”, before Ms Yaya said that the blood was on his mouth.
Describing the scene as a“highly fraught, chaotic, and difficult situation,” counsel pressed Ms Yaya on whether she was sure she was correct about her recollection of the scar on the man’s face and urged her to point to where it was.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that Ms Yaya was pointing “below her eyebrow” to indicate where she says the mark was.
The trial continues next week. Mr Bouchaker, who came to Ireland from Algeria as an asylum seeker, denies all charges.
This will close in 10 seconds