Belfast dad hailed a hero after using son's hurling stick to stop knife attack

A Belfast dad has been hailed as a hero after he intervened during a horrific knife attack on Monday.

Maitiu Mág Tighearnán, 32, heroically came to the rescue, grabbing a wooden hurtling stick and hitting the suspect with it several times.

A man in his 40s was rushed to hospital with serious injuries to his eye, face and back following the stabbing on Kinnaird Avenue, in north Belfast, at around 10:30pm.

Footage of the incident shared online, shows Maitiu run in to hit the suspect while other bystanders attempted to help the injured man.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Maitiu said he and his friend Andre were driving to a petrol station when they saw what they thought was two men ‘fighting’ in the street and decided to break up.

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But as they got closer they saw the knife.

“At this point I thought someone was going to lose their life,” Maitiu said.

“I'd taken my son to hurling practice earlier that evening and so I'd got out of the car, gone to the boot and grabbed his hurling stick.

“Instinct took over and I ran over and I smashed this guy over the head with the hurling stick. Right on the flat side, about three times. As hard as I could.”

Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson praised the brave bystanders who stepped in.

"It's important to acknowledge at the very outset the bravery of those members of the public who ran towards danger to intervene and help the injured man."

North Belfast MP John Finucane said he believed those who stepped in may have saved the victim's life.

“They showed extraordinary courage and bravery to step in, to put themselves in danger to save, I think possibly, a man’s life because of their selfless acts, and I want, on behalf of everybody I’m sure, to thank them for that,” he told the Press Association.

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A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged with attempted murder.

He is also charged with possession of an article with a blade or point in a public place and making threats to kill and is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

A GoFundMe page to ‘buy Maitiu a pint’ has since been set up by Niall Donnan, who wrote: “Faced with unimaginable violence, he chose courage over fear and grabbed a hurley stick to defend his fellow Irish man.

“I have set up this GoFundMe so the people of our land can show our support to Matt for his incredible bravery and courage. 100% of donations will be sent to Matt directly.

“Let’s buy him a pint!”

The fundraiser has currently raised almost £10,500.