Speak out against crime, urges Martin

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin yesterday made an impassioned plea for people to "speak out" against perpetrators of crime after a spate of serious incidents in the capital.

Dr Martin made the appeal during Mass in Lourdes at the annual diocesan pilgrimage.

The archbishop’s office later said he had been referencing a 48-hour period in Dublin during which a pipe bomb was found in a graveyard, a security officer held at gunpoint and a man left fighting for his life in hospital after a knife attack in the early evening.

Dr Martin said the “extraordinary experience of peace” during the pilgrimage “contrasts with the constant news we receive about the violence of shootings and stabbings that mar the life of the streets of Dublin”.

“Such horrendous violence can become so commonplace that we become anaesthetised to it and, even worse, it acquires for its perpetrators a sort of warped sense of celebrity.

'Raise our voices'
"Nothing could be farther from the truth. Violence degrades and brings shame on its perpetrators and sponsors. Violence only leads to further violence and grief. Vendetta generates further vendetta and leaves both the perpetrators and the community less secure.

“We have to raise our voices unambiguously to condemn those behind this violence. As communities, we have to support and co-operate with the gardaí. We have to speak out. We have to shame the perpetrators. We have to educate our young people. We have to mobilise our communities. We have to pray for an end to a dangerous cancer in our society.”

The victim of the knife attack, Ian McKenna, who is in his late twenties, was standing outside the Central Bank at about 5.40pm on Monday when the incident took place. He was approached by a group of four men and stabbed repeatedly in the stomach and face.

He was taken to St James’s Hospital where his wounds were described as serious. His condition was described as “stable” last night, however, and he is expected to make a recovery.

Gardaí last night said no arrests had been made. They believe the men they are looking for were part of a larger group who had walked from the Crown Alley area of Temple Bar onto Fownes Street.

Afterwards, they made their escape back in the direction of Crown Alley. Two of them were seen running over the Ha’penny Bridge. They are described as being in their late teens to early twenties, of average build and wearing dark tops with hoods.

Explosive devices
The incident with the security officer referred to by the archbishop took place on Monday at about 1pm when two men, one armed with a shotgun, approached the cash-in-transit officer as he was making a collection on the Old Bawn Road in Tallaght.

The third incident referenced by Dr Martin was the recovery of two suspected explosive devices found near the grave of former Real IRA leader Alan Ryan at Balgriffin on Tuesday.