Gardaí hunt Polish men’s knife attackers

GARDAÍ were yesterday trying to identify the members of a gang which assaulted and knifed three Polish men, leaving one with serious injuries.

The men were set upon as they walked home in the early hours of Saturday morning after attending a club in Cavan town.

The attack took place in the Ardkeane-Aughnaskerry area of the town between 3am and 3.30am.

It is thought that a gang of six or seven people jumped on the three men in what gardaí believe may have been a random attack.

The attackers were brandishing knives and stabbed all three men, inflicting serious wounds on one of them.

The three Poles, aged in their late 30s or early 40s, were taken by ambulance to Cavan General Hospital. The man who suffered the most serious injuries was later taken to St James’s Hospital in Dublin for specialist care.

The man, who had been described as suffering from life-threatening injuries, was yesterday said to be in a stable condition.

The two men in Cavan hospital were later released.

Gardaí conducted house-to-house inquiries in the area over the weekend and tried to identify people who may have had contact with the three men earlier in the night.

Inspector Gerry Curley yesterday asked potential witnesses to contact Cavan Garda Station.

“Friday night is a busy night and we would appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the course of the night or anyone who was in the Ardkeane area between 2am and 4am to come forward,” he said.

Officers said they were keeping an open mind about the possible motive for the attack.

Gardaí are investigating a number of lines of inquiry and say they have nothing to indicate at the moment that there was a racist motive behind the attack.

Cavan Garda Station can be contacted on 049-4368800.

The attack is the latest in a series of serious attacks, including fatal assaults, on eastern Europeans in Ireland.

Meanwhile, three men were hospitalised yesterday following a car crash in Carlow.

One of the car’s passengers was reported as being in a critical condition in St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny, while another suffered head injuries. A third occupant was said to be in a stable condition.

The single vehicle collision happened on the Hacketstown Road, at about 5.30am, when the car hit a wall on the outskirts of Carlow town.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the incident and are investigating reports that the car may have been stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Carlow Garda Station on 059 9136620.