A hero creche worker who was seriously injured as she courageously shielded youngsters from a knife attacker is out of intensive care.
Leanne Flynn was repeatedly stabbed during the attack in Dublin as she bravely shielded the five and six year old youngsters from the lone knifeman.
She suffered serious neck injuries as she courageously jumped in front of the attacker.
Leanne spent a week in intensive care but last week was moved on to a high dependency unit as she continues to recover from her wounds.
While the mother of a five-year-old stabbed outside a school says she is showing ‘incredible strength’ as she remains gravely ill in hospital.
The motive for the attack is still not known but police have ruled out it being terror-related.
Leanne Flynn was seriously injured in Dublin as she courageously shielded schoolchildren from a knife attacker. She is now out of intensive care but remains seriously ill
Candles and tributes left following a vigil held outside Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire school on Parnell Square, following an attack on Parnell Square East. A girl, 5, remains gravely ill in the ICU. A boy, 5, and girl, 6, have been discharged from hospital
The little girl remains in intensive care fighting for her life 11 days after being stabbed in the chest near the Gaelscoil Cholasite Mhuire primary school.
She underwent emergency surgery in Dublin’s Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
An online fundraiser set up for the injured youngster has raised more than €35,000 after setting an initial target of €500.
The mother gave an update on her daughter’s condition in a post which was published on the GoFundMe page by the organiser on Friday saying ‘she is still here with us’.
‘Dear all, thank you so much for the incredible gesture and kindness you have shown our family during these troubled times,’ she said
‘Your thoughts, prayers and generosity have and will go a long way. Our little girl has shown incredible strength and still here with us.
‘We don’t know yet what lies ahead as it is still early, but she is resilient and limitations will not stop her. Thank you so much. All the love we can give.’
Three children and Leanne were left injured in the horror stabbing attack which was followed by riots in the city centre. A five-year-old boy and six-year-old girl have both been discharged from Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
Leanne was hailed a superhero for risking her life to save the children with one source telling Dublin Live ‘you would shudder to think what would have happened if Leanne didn’t act so quickly’.
She is said to still be seriously ill in hospital despite being moved out of the ICU.
The alleged attacker, 49, is in hospital under guard as Gardai awaits medical clearance to question him.
The man, originally from Algeria, has been living in Ireland for the past two decades. He took Irish citizenship more than a decade ago.
Riots followed in the city centre after the knife attack. (Pictured: A bus on fire in O’Connell Street)
Irish police confirmed a total of five people were injured following the ‘major security’ incident which occurred on Parnell Square
Irish police confirmed five people had been injured, including three young children, following the serious incident
Five people including three children were injured when a knifeman attacked a group of young people in Dublin before being overpowered
Police have ruled out terrorism as witnesses revealed that three children ‘fell to the ground’ one after the other as five people were wounded
An Garda Siochana at the scene in Dublin city centre after five people were injured, including three young children
Last month Leanne’s proud brother Jonathan hailed her as a hero.
In a message posted on a GoFundMe page – organised to raise money as a thank-you to those who intervened and prevented children from being fatally wounded in the unprovoked attack outside an after school care centre in Dublin’s north inner city – Leanne’s brother Jonathan wrote: ‘Leanne hasn’t been able to share her story with everybody yet so I’m not gonna put up any details here but she is a hero and I’m so proud of my sister.
‘Thanks to everyone who has donated and I hope all involved fully recover.’
Describing how Leanne confronted the knife-wielding attacker as she brought a group of five and six-year-olds from their classrooms to an after school care centre, an eyewitness recalled: ‘Leanne was unbelievably brave. She threw herself across the children to protect them and she took the full brunt of it.’
Dublin’s ‘night of shame’ was condemned by Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
Around 500 thugs fought running battles with riot cops, looted shops and torched a double-decker bus in anger over the attack.
Police said a day later 34 people had been arrested over their suspected involvement in the violence which, officials said, was driven by a ‘complete lunatic faction driven by far-right ideology’.
Mr Varadkar said those involved in the riots ‘brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves’.
The clean-up operation after battles broke out between rioters and police in Dublin following an knife attack on young children
People were told to work from home as workers cleaned up the city centre a day after the riots last month
Workers clean up debris of a burnt train and vehicles. A double-decker bus was also set alight
‘As a country we need to reclaim Ireland. We need to take it away from the cowerers who hide behind masks and try to terrify us with their violence,’ he said in an emotional statement a day after the riots.
‘We need to reclaim Ireland from the unscrupulous who prey on the fears of those easily led into darkness. And we need to reclaim Ireland from the criminals who seek any excuse to unleash horror on our streets.’