A garda remained in a serious condition in the Mater hospital, Dublin, yesterday after a stabbing in Raheny on Wednesday night involving two officers. Two men were in custody in connection with the incident last night.
Garda Dave Comar was described as serious but stable and Garda James Hendricks was expected to be discharged from Beaumont Hospital following the attack in Raheny. The two uniformed gardaí had responded to a disturbance call to a house in Main Street made by locals at 11.30pm when they were attacked.
Garda Comar was first to enter the house and was immediately set upon by two or three masked men.
He was stabbed in the back and chest with a blunt instrument, possibly a screwdriver. Garda Hendricks followed him into the house and was also attacked but managed to help his colleague to safety.
Three Garda cars responded to the officer's call for help and two ambulances arrived at the scene around midnight.
Both officers were initially taken to Beaumont Hospital but Garda Comar was transferred to the Mater. He suffered a lot of internal bleeding and doctors had feared for his life but his condition has since stabilised. Garda Hendricks suffered superficial injuries to his arm.
One man was arrested at the scene and a second and possibly third escaped through the back door and into neighbouring gardens.
They were pursued by gardaí on foot and the Garda helicopter and dog unit also took part in the chase. A second man was arrested an hour later.
Both men are Chinese nationals and were being held at Howth and Raheny Garda stations last night. They will be charged before the District Court this morning.
A number of weapons were recovered from the scene including knives and machetes. The house in which the attack took place is rented to four Chinese tenants, two men and two women.
Supt Nicky Conneely of Raheny Garda station, speaking at a press conference yesterday, said two or three men arrived at the house at 10pm on Wednesday night.
"We are particularly anxious to establish how they got here," he said. He appealed to taxi drivers and members of the public who saw anything suspicious involving members of the Chinese community on the night of the attack to contact Raheny Garda station on 01-666 4380.
He thanked local residents who had been calling to the station with messages of support throughout the day.
Garda Comar (30), is originally from Co Galway and Garda Hendricks (28), is from Cork. Both men are stationed at Howth Garda station. Speaking across the road from the crime scene at Slender Health Club, fitness instructor Maireád Magennis said everyone was talking about the incident and some people had laid flowers at the scene. "This is usually a very quiet area."
Local woman Norrie McEvoy said: "It's ridiculous that they [ gardaí] have to deal with this on a daily basis with hardly any protection."
Fianna Fáil TD Martin Brady said the incident was an outrageous attack, not just on the members of the force involved, but the entire community.
"I will also be asking senior members of the force to carry out an immediate review to ensure that every protection is being provided to gardaí as they go about their duty," he said.
Labour TD Tommy Broughan said the attack reflected the prevalence of knife culture throughout the capital, and the danger gardaí were often exposed to.