Man living in Cork jailed for 'vicious and cowardly' stabbing of man in Dublin

'It is nothing short of a miracle that the victim is still alive,' says judge

Attal had relevant previous convictions, for offences including assault and possession of a knife. File picture

A kitchen porter who stabbed a man in the back in a “vicious and cowardly” daytime attack, leaving him close to death, has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.

The victim in the case was being attacked by another man, who had followed him out of a cafe on the day in question last year when Adel Attal joined the fray, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Horrified onlookers thought Attal was breaking up the fight on Rosie Hackett Bridge, but instead he grabbed a 12in kitchen knife from the first attacker and slashed the victim several times to the leg and back — leaving a deep wound that nearly exposed the victim's spine.

The pair then fled the scene, with Attal throwing the knife into the Liffey and the victim was left coming in and out of consciousness and “close to death”, Judge Jonathan Dunphy said while sentencing Attal on Friday.

“It is nothing short of a miracle that the victim is still alive,” Judge Dunphy said, noting the man's “courageous” recovery and the “excellent work” of emergency services, including a paramedic who happened to be close by and who immediately came to the victim's assistance.

Attal was arrested on Grafton Street a short while later after a garda on patrol noticed he had blood spatters on his legs and was acting erratically. He made no admissions when arrested and interviewed.

Attal, aged 32, of Main Street, Mallow, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm at Rosie Hackett Bridge, Dublin 1, on June 2, 2025. It is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. His co-accused is still before the courts.

Passing sentence, Judge Dunphy noted the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had placed the offending in the mid-range. He noted it was a “vicious and cowardly” attack and that Attal had relevant previous convictions, for offences including assault and possession of a knife.

He set a headline sentence of nine-and-a-half years, which he reduced to seven-and-a-half years taking mitigation into account, including Attal's early guilty plea, his professed remorse, and his willingness to work on his addiction issues.

He suspended the final year of that sentence on a number of conditions.

How the attack occurred

At a previous sentence hearing, Garda Tom McEvoy told George Burns, prosecuting, that the injured party had arrived from Algeria in recent months and had been socialising with fellow Algerians at a city centre cafe.

He recognised the co-accused in the cafe as being someone he had been in a fight with about three weeks prior. After he left the cafe and started to walk across the bridge, this man came at him with the knife and stabbed him in the stomach.

The pair were grappling when Attal joined the scene. The victim thought Attal was coming to his aid, but instead Attal grabbed the knife from the co-accused and started stabbing the injured party in the back and stomach.

Attal threw the knife in the river and both men fled the scene. The weapon was later recovered by the Garda Underwater Unit, with the court hearing it was 12in kitchen knife.

A paramedic saw what happened and immediately went to help the injured party, who had a large cut to his back which was nearly as deep as his spine, along with other wounds.

Members of the Dublin Fire Brigade also attended the incident. They observed the injured party had wounds on his calf, thigh, arm, and abdomen as well as a “severe and very deep cut” to his back.

One paramedic said they thought the injured party was dead at one point during the journey to the Mater Hospital.

The victim required 10 staples for each of the two wounds in his back, and was also treated for his other injuries. He was in intensive care for two days and in hospital for three weeks.

The court was told he is recovering well and had declined to provide a victim impact statement.

CCTV footage of the incident was also played to the court.

After his arrest, Attal's DNA was taken and a forensic analysis identified his blood on the victim. The victim’s blood was also found on a sample of blood taken from Attal’s knee.

Attal has 21 previous convictions, all from the district court, including theft, assault of a garda, intoxication in a public place, and drugs offences.

Garda McEvoy agreed with James Dwyer, defending, that his client engaged with the victim after the co-accused started the attack. It was also accepted that Attal entered an early guilty plea which was of value to the prosecution.

Attal has been in custody since his arrest. Probation, governor, and education reports were handed into the court along with urine analysis and letters of apology.

The court heard Attal was living in Cork at the time of the offence and was working as a kitchen porter. 

Defence counsel submitted that Attal’s judgment on the day was affected by intoxication the night before and that he did not intend to carry out an attack.

Attal is from Algeria and intends to return there after completing his sentence, the court heard.