Man attacked with knife in row ‘over cans of beer’

A ROW over a few cans of beer ended with a man being stabbed in the throat and the heart in a city centre at lunchtime.

The victim was 50-year-old homeless man Michael O’Reilly, who has an address at a hostel in Lady’s Lane in Waterford.

He was in a serious but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Waterford Regional Hospital yesterday following emergency surgery on his throat and head following the attack.

Three men arrested in connection with a serious stabbing incident in Waterford city early on Wednesday afternoon have been released without charge and a file on the matter is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A fourth person, a woman who was in hospital and receiving medical treatment yesterday, was also helping gardaí with their inquiries into the attack on Mr O’Reilly at Olaf Street, just behind the City Square Shopping Centre at 12.30pm on Wednesday.

The daylight attack has stunned people in Waterford city.

Brother Columbanus, who works and lives in the Franciscan Friary in the inner city and knows Mr O’Reilly well, said: “He’s the last person I thought would be the victim of this type of an assault.

“He’s a very friendly man. He’s a very good friend of mine. He’s well-known around the place and is nice.

“But he has a problem, he is an alcoholic. He mixes in a crowd and apparently it all bubbled over, over a few cans of beer. A knife was produced and he was the victim. He has kept out of trouble and he was the last person I thought would be the victim of something like this,” he added.

Mr O’Reilly had been in the hostel for two-and-a-half to three years. At the recent Christmas party in the shelter, he was the one who was going around, making sure everyone else was okay, Brother Columbanus added.

Gardaí investigating the attack are continuing their appeal for witnesses to contact them on 051-305300.