A 21-year-old man is recovering in hospital in Cork from slash wounds after he was attacked by a man with a samurai sword early yesterday.
He was one of a number of young men drinking around a bonfire on waste ground at Ashbrook Heights, Lehenaghmore, near Togher, at about 5.30am when another group of young men pulled up in a car.
According to a Garda source, the two groups began drinking together then one newcomer produced a samurai sword and attacked one of the first group, wounding him as he tried to flee.
It is understood that the injured man suffered a slash wound across the back of the neck and the back of his shoulder and he was taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital after one of the group raised the alarm.
According to a hospital spokeswoman, the man, who is from Togher, was due to undergo surgery yesterday afternoon but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Gardaí in Dundalk are investigating another incident in which a 24-year-old man threatened firefighters with a samurai sword. A 37-year-old man claimed the man had cut him twice on the leg with the sword.
The man is also alleged to have used the sword to smash windows in a house and car belonging to an elderly woman.
Firefighters had to turn a water hose on the man after he approached them wielding the sword. The family whose car fire the brigade was dealing with said they believed they could have died if the fire had spread to their home in Marion Park, Dundalk.
The man fled but gardaí found him unconscious a short distance away. He was taken to hospital where he is being treated for a fractured skull.
Gardaí from Togher were notified of the incident in Cork by the emergency services at about 5.50am but when they arrived at the scene all the drinkers had left. In a follow-up search, officers recovered a scabbard for a samurai sword and about €4,000 of cannabis herb.
Detectives are waiting for permission from doctors to speak to the man about the incident and find out whether he knew his attacker or could identify him.
Last June, two men were attacked at Daly's Cross, Castleconnell, Co Limerick, by men wielding samurai swords.
Last week the British government confirmed plans to outlaw replica samurai swords in England and Wales. Home office minister Vernon Coaker said the easily available weapons posed a clear danger to the public.
There have been some 80 attacks in the UK in recent years involving samurai-style blades, resulting in five deaths.
Under the British proposals, the importation, sale and hire of replica samurai swords will be banned from April 2008 with anyone breaching the ban facing six months in jail and a £5,000 fine. However, it is expected the ban will stop short of banning genuine samurai swords held by collectors.
In Ireland, although samurai swords are not specified by name in the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990, a Garda spokesman said that people can be prosecuted under the act for producing samurai swords in a public place without a lawful reason.
