A parent with a child at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square, where three children were stabbed last month, has told Gript that parents had raised the alarm with Gardaí about an all-male hostel being located just minutes away from the school – but that their concerns were ignored.
The parent we spoke to also said that some parents at the primary school feel that the school community feel “forgotten about” almost exactly one month on from the stabbings that shocked the nation.
Before the incident unfolded on 23rd November, the parent said that a group of parents from the school raised the issue of an all-male hostel being located beside the inner city Gaelscoil.
It was revealed in the aftermath of the attack that the suspect had been living in Dublin City Council hostel accommodation before he carried out the stabbing rampage.
“We’ve been concerned for a long time. There is an all-male hostel not far rom the school, and we had been asking the gardai to get those staying there moved somewhere else because it wasn’t appropriate,” a mum with a child at the primary school told Gript.
Asked what, if any, action was taken, the mum said, “No one from the Gardaí had gotten back to us. There was nothing.”
“As far as we know, the suspect lived in one of the hostels just a stone’s throw away from the school. We’re also extremely frustrated because there are also reports he was arrested in May for possession of a knife, and he was let away with it,” she added.
The Dublin mum told Gript that parents, just weeks on from the attack, feel like the incident “has been pushed under the carpet” – with conversation about the incident quieting down.
“Not with regards to the school,” she stressed. “They have been brilliant, for example, with providing counselling for the children. But we feel that from the perspective of the gardaí, and more so the government, that it’s been pushed under the carpet.
“We feel forgotten about at this stage, only a few weeks on from what happened,” she added. “There was attention for a few days, and then nothing,” she said.
“At the moment, we are very thankful as there are garda here every day at the school, from 9:15 am until around quarter to three. We are very grateful for the gardai presence, and it was something parents actually asked for. It was really the least we felt they could give us considering the circumstances.
The mum said there were a couple of days where the gardaí were not present at the school, which prompted parents to raise the issue with the school – and since then, there has been a daily police presence.
“That makes us feel reassured,” she said. “The school has been great, but all of the parents I’ve spoken to with kids at the school, we all feel the situation has been brushed under the carpet,” the parent added.
She said that parents feel left in the dark over the situation regarding the suspect in the attack, and that there has been very little information or updates provided.
“There is still a lot of talk about the suspect. We know from a source that he was carrying two knives, which hasn’t been stated by any media platform. We feel there is a real lack of information there,” she added.
The parent said she and other parents were disappointed by what she perceives as a lack of effort on the part of government officials to contact the school. She said there was a failure to show political leadership, and that the school community had not received answers nor leadership from those in power.
“We have been asking for contact, and we haven’t got it. The school has been great with the kids, bringing in Santa to them, and making so much extra effort.
“There was a Mass for us all the following week, and the school community has really pulled together to ensure the kids are doing as well as they can be. They’ve been keeping us all posted with how the kids have been doing, which we appreciate. Private counselling has also been provided from Monday to Friday.”
The mum added that in the days following the attack, some parents decided to keep their children off school, choosing to only bring them back to school the following week, as tensions and fears were high.
“They’ve had loads of activities going on with regards to the curriculum, and they’ve been brilliant. But only for the school supporting the kids so well, no one else has sent anything in or gone to any effort. It’s disappointing.”
The parent continued: “We also feel like it happened, but it didn’t happen in the eyes of the government. It’s almost like ‘that’s it now’.
“We had Leo Varadkar coming out last week talking about giving Santa permission to come into the Irish airspace for Christmas, but many of us are genuinely wondering how the suspect was given permission to stay in the country.
The concerned parent also told Gript that it was her view, and the view of other parents she has spoken to, that the focus shifted from the stabbings themselves onto the subsequent riots which engulfed Dublin.
“We’ve noticed the headlines in the papers, and how the stabbings themselves did not make the front pages. In my opinion, we have to acknowledge, and it hasn’t really been acknowledged, that in another sense, the riots happened because of the stabbings.
‘WE’VE BEEN CONCERNED FOR A LONG TIME’
“Truth be told, as parents, some of us feel that the reaction was coming for a long time, and that there is genuine anger. This isn’t the first incident – just a few nights after, there was a stabbing up on Talbot Street.”
“We’ve been concerned for a long time. As far as we know, the suspect lived in one of the hostels just a stone’s throw away from the school. We’re also extremely frustrated because there are also reports he was arrested in May for possession of a knife, and he was let away with it,” she added.
Two days after the stabbing attack, The Irish Daily Mail carried a report that the chief suspect had been arrested earlier this year in possession of a knife. The suspect, who is originally from Algeria, had been living in Ireland for the past two decades, and had gained Irish citizenship. The man, aged in his 40s, had come to Garda attention “several times in the past year,” the newspaper reported.
“He was brought to court, and he was let off. It just seems unbelievable,” the parent said.
The parent said that many within the school community, including herself, feel as though the conversation has shifted away from the attacker, and the victims, onto the threat of the far-right in Ireland.
She insisted the focus should be on law and order, and safety in the area, which she said has felt unsafe for a long time.
“Even in the morning, leaving our kids off, I would say many of us can feel terrified. It’s obviously so hard for us now.”
Asked how children at the school were coping, the parent said that her own child knew the little girl who was still in hospital. She said the school is continuing to rally around the family, and that the younger children at the school have been told that the child was involved in an incident, but have thankfully been protected from knowing more details.
“Most of the younger kids don’t know what happened, but obviously some of the older kids do. They have received great support from the staff.”
“I would say for the most part, we feel forgotten about by the politicians and by the media. I think some politicians saw it as being to their benefit to speak about the stabbings for two or three days – but that was it. The following week it was forgotten about.”
Asked what change or action they would like to see, the parent said: “In truth, we would like to see the borders shut down in the wake of this. There needs to be some sort of clampdown.
“In other countries, you can’t get in without even having a holiday visa. There is a problem with garda vetting, and we have seen this with people who have come here and have committed serious crimes. We have to ask why some individuals are allowed to come into this country to begin with.”
“Many of us feel the same. People do need to be vetted, and they do need to be monitored. This has made us question whether the government has any idea of who it is letting into the country whatsoever,” the mum added.
“We’re also well aware that mental health may be used here, really as an excuse. But I think we need to get serious about protecting our streets and our families,” she said.
‘IT’S NOT SAFE’
“That area of Dublin in particular, there is no way you would walk around there at night on your own. We have Helen McEntee saying Dublin is safe, which is unbelievable, because so few people feel that way. Even after the attack, we had people saying Dublin was a safe city, but it just makes me think, who are you trying to fool? We all know that it’s not. It’s not safe.”
Regarding the five-year-old child who is still in hospital, the mum said that parents didn’t want to ask “too many questions,” and that the family of the child’s privacy came first.
“We understand that she is in Temple Street. We hope and pray that she will be moved out of the ICU. We know she is still here with us, and we haven’t heard anything else from the school.” Regarding creche worker Leanne Flynn Keogh, the parent said she had been stabbed multiple times, but that parents had heard she was out of intensive care and was recovering well.
“As parents, it’s still surreal that this has happened. It is not something we’ve ever heard of happening in Ireland before,” she added.
She said that parents continue to send their best wishes and prayers to the child in hospital and to her family, as it edges closer to Christmas, adding that other elements of the conversation, including continued fallout over the riots, should not take away from the victims of the horror attack.