A 52-year-old man has been found guilty of the attempted murder of three young children during the knife attack that shocked the nation at Dublin's Parnell Square in November 2023.
A jury at the Central Criminal Court found Riad Bouchaker, 52, guilty of all eight charges he faced following more than four hours of deliberations.
Bouchaker, who has no fixed abode, was convicted of the attempted murder of three children during the attack outside a school on Parnell Square East on 23 November 2023.
He was also found guilty of seriously injuring childcare worker Leanne Flynn, who was stabbed as she tried to protect the children, as well as assaulting two other children and a teenager who intervened to disarm him.
The trial heard that the five-year-old girl who suffered the most serious injuries was stabbed in the heart and has been left with a severe, lifelong brain injury.
During the three-week trial, jurors heard evidence detailing Bouchaker's movements in the hours before the attack.
Gardai on Parnell Street, Dublin, Ireland. Simon Roughneen, Shutterstock
The court heard that Bouchaker, an Algerian national who became an Irish citizen and had lived in Ireland for approximately 25 years, had received a letter refusing him a social welfare payment.
On the morning of the attack, he met his brother, who explained the contents of the letter. CCTV footage later showed him tearing up a piece of paper and throwing it away.
Prosecutors said Bouchaker then returned to his hostel accommodation, where he collected his belongings, including a newly purchased 36-centimetre kitchen carving knife.
The court heard he left most of his possessions at a mosque on Talbot Street before walking towards Parnell Square carrying only a backpack and the knife.
Along the route, one witness told the court she heard Bouchaker repeatedly saying "shit Irish, shit f**ing Irish"* in what she described as an aggressive manner.
CCTV footage shown during the trial also captured him in a laneway behind Parnell Square, where he asked a passer-by for directions to the school shortly before launching the attack.
The stabbing on 23 November 2023 left five people injured, including the three children, Leanne Flynn, who attempted to shield them, and a teenage boy who intervened to stop the attacker.
The incident prompted widespread shock across Ireland and sparked public disorder in Dublin city centre later that evening.
Bouchaker denied the charges during the trial, but the jury unanimously found him guilty on all counts.
He is due to be sentenced at a later date.
