THE IRISH army chaplain who was stabbed outside his barracks in Galway last week, Fr Paul Murphy, has been released from hospital. On Saturday a 16-year-old boy was charged, and remanded in custody, in relation to the attack.
The alleged attacker can’t be named due to his age. On Saturday, a court heard that the Irish police imagine that the boy “holds a radical Islamist mindset”, the Irish Times reported.
Detective Sergeant Paul McNulty said that investigators didn’t think that the teenager was known to Fr Murphy, and that the choice of a victim had been “indiscriminate”.
In an additional hearing on Tuesday, the boy was remanded in a children’s detention centre in Dublin until next month.
According to Mr McNulty, Fr Murphy suffered an “unprovoked, frenzied attack” while returning to Renmore Barracks in Galway on Thursday evening of last week.
He suffered deep cuts to his arms which required surgery, in addition to minor cuts to his face. A knife with an eight-inch blade was reportedly recovered from the scene.
On Friday morning of last week, Fr Murphy posted on Facebook to say that he as “doing okay” as he awaited surgery. He has since been discharged from hospital.
He thanked people for his or her “prayers, love, and concern”, and concluded: “All will probably be well.”
On the identical day, the Bishop of Waterford & Lismore, the Rt Revd Alphonsus Cullinan, said that it was “essential to return together as a community during this difficult time.” He condemned the attack, and asked people to hope for Fr Murphy, who was ordained within the diocese, and said that he was “facing an unimaginable ordeal”.
“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of unity inside our community. We must come together not only to support our injured priest but in addition to foster an environment where such acts don’t occur again,” Bishop Cullinan said.
Also on Friday, the Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora, the Rt Revd Michael Duignan, made a brief statement, saying that he was praying for Fr Murphy and for the medics attending to him.
