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.
This actually reminds me of the times when child abuse victims went to the gardai about the abuse from the clergy and were ignored as well. Looks like they are up to the same old tricks on a different narrative. I don’t really see the point of the gardai under Drew Harris tbh, Its all about protecting narratives rather than the people who pay their wages.
The journal and rte go on about school shootings in the us and they’ve quietly dropped the stabbing at schools in our country.
Remember the “children of diversity” who started stabbing the non diverse of us at the young scientist at the rds a few years ago?
http://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/d6zs77/chaos_in_the_rds_dublin_after_stabbing_during
Thanks for covering this. It’s easy for the important issues to get forgotten about as new stuff keeps coming in. That parent is right on about them having priorities completely out of whack.
Has the perp been charged? The name released?
Wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out to be Youcef Madani, an Algerian of the same age and length of stay in Ireland, who was wanted by France on terrorist charges but had been challenging them for six years. He was ordered to be extradited at the start of this year, seemingly the final decision, but was granted bail. At his point the story appears to have ceased to have been covered by the media (there are loads of articles on his earlier legal challenges over the years), so he may or may not have finally left the country. https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2023/01/19/forger-and-weapons-trafficker-extradited-to-france-after-20-years-in-ireland/
He had several aliases – apart from gun-running he was wanted in France and Holland for forging passports for other terrorist – and there was difficulty in actually establishing his identity here. Both the school attacker and Madani are said by family members to have had similar cancers – one a brain tumor and the other ‘skull cancer’.
He could be ruled out if someone could confirm from french authorities/media that he had been extradited successfully in the end.
The most recent coverage for the Madani case is from Jan 19th of this year, when gardaí asked tge judge to deny him bail but bail was granted. These articles state that his arrest was in 2021, but I remember seeing articles earlier than this.
When I tried to find them, got this one from 2019, which is apparently another Algerian terrorist living in Ireland – https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/state-asked-not-to-deport-man-convicted-of-terror-offences-1.3920910 – unnamed, but also in his 50s like the other [two?] men, this one arrested here in 2016 and “also alleged to have previously used multiple identities and was jailed in Ireland after being convicted of attempting to travel on a false passport,” but it was Algeria who were looking for this one. This guy was stated to be here since 2012.
And then….
There’s apparently another one ;
“An order for deportation of an Algerian man who arrived in Ireland under a false identity in 1997 after being convicted of terrorism in Algeria, and who has subsequently been convicted of terrorism offences throughout Europe, ” https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/supreme-court-ministers-decision-to-make-deportation-order-did-not-adequately-consider-risk-of-torture
If the date for the previous guy’s arrival is correct (2012) then they aren’t the same one wanted by Algeria but two different ones wanted by Algeria.
How many are we on, three, not including the Parnell Square attacker?
The most recent coverage for the Madani case is from Jan 19th of this year, when gardaí asked the judge to deny him bail but bail was granted. These articles state that his arrest was in 2021, but I remember seeing articles earlier than this.
When I tried to find them, got this one from 2019, which is apparently another Algerian terrorist living in Ireland – https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/state-asked-not-to-deport-man-convicted-of-terror-offences-1.3920910 – unnamed, but also in his 50s like the other [two?] men, this one arrested here in 2016 and “also alleged to have previously used multiple identities and was jailed in Ireland after being convicted of attempting to travel on a false passport,” but it was Algeria who were looking for this one. This guy was stated to be here since 2012.
And then….
There’s apparently another one ;
“An order for deportation of an Algerian man who arrived in Ireland under a false identity in 1997 after being convicted of terrorism in Algeria, and who has subsequently been convicted of terrorism offences throughout Europe, ” https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/supreme-court-ministers-decision-to-make-deportation-order-did-not-adequately-consider-risk-of-torture
If the date for the previous guy’s arrival is correct (2012) then they aren’t the same one wanted by Algeria but two different ones wanted by Algeria.
How many are we on, three, not including the Parnell Square attacker?
…and that last guy apparently popped over to Europe, committed more terrorist-related crimes, and popped back to Ireland….actually, just read it yourselves, it’s simpler:
” granted refugee status in April 2000.
He was also granted travel documentation later that year on 10th October 2000, which as it happened allowed him to leave Ireland to commit multiple offences abroad.
Justice O’Donnell described YY as “someone who poses a threat to the security of this state and others”.
Nevertheless, it is said that his deportation to Algeria is precluded by the obligations of this state in international law, now implemented in national law.
In 2006, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris convicted YY of multiple terror offences, in addition to identity fraud. YY was released from prison in 2009, and was refused asylum in France.
In response to YY’s failed attempt to apply for refugee status in France, the Irish authorities initiated proceedings in February 2009, to revoke YY’s refugee status in Ireland. However, YY somehow left France and re-entered Ireland unlawfully at some point during 2009.
The Minister for Justice and Equality proceeded to revoke the declaration of refugee status in August 2011, on the basis that YY had provide materially false and misleading information to the Irish asylum authorities.”
With all of the identity chicanery, and ineptness of the Irish authorities and legal system, I have no clue what we’re really looking at. The possibility that these men may potentially be the same individual in one or more cases is certainly open. That that there is a wider Algerian i.d. issue in the country is certain. And where did the ten-thousand cash bail really come from in Madani’s case ?
A journalist might ask these sort of questions.
Perhaps the Phibsboro branch of the Groupe Islamique Armé Passport-Fanciers Club raided their Disneyland piggypank.
Woah. It’s hard to believe no name has been released yet. Aren’t the parents demanding to know the name?
There seems to be a sort of cartel-like agreement between the media, police and politicians in respect to the case. The mentality at play is that to release any information would damage ‘social cohesion’ as they put it – that is to say, vindicate criticism as to the background of a significant number of the people who have arrived in the country and the threat they pose.
This was exemplified by Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland who stated that as a journalist her job was to regulate information to prevent animosity arising between the Irish and asylum seekers (but she isn’t even consistent according to her own mangled interpretation of journalistic duties – she has earlier invented a story about an attack on an asylum camp that never happened).
Specifically with regard to this case, there seems to be a very high likelihood that the attacker has a background (criminal history, multiple identities and/or successfully abused the immigration processes) that they want to keep hidden.
In no other part of the democratic world would you find a media in complete compliance with the government to keep this secret.
The mantra from the traitor government for 2024 and beyond is the following!
OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE VICTIMS!
diversity is our strength!
Sinn Fein has many questions about how they allowed the inner city area within yards of their headquarters to become a doom loop. It started with gangs gathering in Moore Street to exchange shoplifted goods with beggars for cash and spend the day consuming brandy and coke at the empty stalls.
No fan of Sinn Féin, but they’re not responsible for policing the area. And to be honest, they’re the last sort of f__rs I’d like to see doing it given their nature. They haven’t changed when you see their attempts to throw intimidating stares at that meeting in Ballyshannon. Used to try the bully boy tactics down here years ago when they were collecting, til they got ran out and laughed at.
Is there a policing committee in your local authority?
No political leadership now. Nobody putting on pressure, no questions being asked. The calibre of party politicians is not like long ago. They are not authentic. They are all woke and anti-Irish diversity is their game. Emmanuel Macron’s salary is €142,000 a year. Rishi Sunak’s salary is £93,246. The salary of a backbench TD in Ireland, a country of 5 million people, is €107,376. Don’t talk to me about the inflated salaries of RTÉ ‘stars’ even after the salary cuts, they are the government’s mouthpiece. They made sure not to talk about the stabbings any more. A political decision. The far right is a handy number to deflect from having to tell the truth. Corruption.
Protect the immigration societal enrichment diversity narrative at any cost, even if that means babies are stabbed and maimed #Ireland