3.40 p.m.: Raheny
JOSEPH and Teresa McGrath, a couple in their 70s, were almost home having been to Dollymount to walk their dog.
They were in their white Opel Corsa on Raheny Road near the Grange Park Road junction, about to swing right into the driveway of their home. It was 3.40 p.m.
Four male teenagers, three aged 15 and one aged 13, were coming up behind the couple in a stolen maroon Opel Rekord. They were being followed by two Garda ears and were travelling at around 80 m.p.h. The 15-year-old driver had just lost control and the ear had veered into the middle of the road.
The Rekord, the sturdier of the two cars, struck the Opel Corsa broadside on the driver's side. The impact sent the ear spinning across the road where it thumped through a neighbour's fence and came to a halt in the garden. Mrs McGrath was thrown through the rear window and struck a tree before falling to the ground. Her husband was trapped in the badly battered ear.
The four youths jumped out of the stolen ear and tried to escape.
One of them ran into the garden of Mrs Margaret Deasy, who lives next door to the McGraths. "He tried to get in through the front door but I closed it on him," said Mrs Deasy. "He was at the window when the gardai got him."
Two others were stopped by gardai, but the fourth managed to run off through some nearby houses and fields.
Ambulances were called and Mrs McGrath was rushed to Beaumont Hospital. Her husband had to be cut from his ear before he too was taken to Beaumont. Yesterday a spokeswoman for the hospital described Mrs McGrath's condition as "critical" and that of her husband as "stable".
A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the four youths in the stolen ear. It had been stolen from Hollybrook Road, Clontarf, on Sunday evening, the day before the collision, and had been "sighted" by gardai that night. On Monday afternoon it was "flying around the city centre" before its occupants had driven it back towards Raheny.
The youths are all from the Raheny area and known to gardai. Two of the 15-year-olds, including the driver, have previous conviction for taking ears. The 13-year-old has been in trouble before.
On the afternoon of the crash, which was witnessed by a garda, the three youths who were caught were brought to hospital. They were suffering from minor injuries, cuts and bruises over the eyes, and sore legs. They were released from hospital at around 10 p.m. on Monday, and from custody about two hours later.
The fourth youth was arrested yesterday afternoon. A garda said the youths did not seem shocked by the enormity of what they had done. "They are probably remorseful that they were caught. Not a lot will happen to them anyway," he said.
Witnesses of the accident were yesterday still in shock. Mrs Maura Ui Mhuirthile was in her kitchen when the ears collided and crashed through her garden fence. "I heard the bang and thought at first it was just a door slamming. But when I got out into the garden it was like a war zone," she said.
The McGraths' dog escaped from the crash alive. He was taken inside by one of the elderly couple's sons who rushed to the scene. The couple have six other children, two of whom flew back from London to be by Mrs McGrath's side in hospital.
9 p.m.: Rialto
IT WAS near 9 p.m. when Mr John Ellis (62), a single man who lives alone in a senior citizens' complex at Dolphin's Park, Rialto, was on his way home after visiting a friend nearby. A group of youths had gathered in front of the Dublin Corporation-owned complex, which is near Dolphin House. He asked them to leave and an argument ensued.
One of the youths, aged 17 years, hit Mr Ellis over the head with a full bottle of beer. The bottle broke and the youth then stabbed Mr Ellis in the mouth with the broken bottle, badly cutting and slashing his face, gardai said, and leaving skin hanging from his lower jaw.
Mr Ellis made his way to his upstairs apartment and telephoned gardai. The youth, who lives locally, was still hanging around when gardai arrived and Mr Ellis was able to point him out.
A youth was taken to Kilmainham Garda station and later released. A file is being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Ellis was taken to St James's Hospital where it is understood he underwent surgery yesterday. A spokeswoman described him as "comfortable".
The corporation's community warden at the complex, Mr Gerard Carthy, said he was saddened by incident. "There have been an awful lot of break-ins in the area but this is the first time I've seen one of my tenants cut up like that."
He said many of the elderly tenants in the complex lived alone, and some were formerly homeless. However, he said, most were not shaken by the incident as they had got used to such crimes. "Things like this are so common nowadays,", he said.
Midnight: Rathmines
A MAN is spotted at a house on Grosvenor Road, Rathmines. Tall, heavily built and wearing dark clothing, he was seen pouring liquid from a plastic bottle through the letter box and then igniting it.
The hall burst into flames and the man ran off down Grosvenor Road.
Ms Sorcha Fox, who lives next door to the house, returned home to find the Fire Brigade putting out the blaze. "There were people out on the steps and on the road in the dressing gowns, and there was a smell of paraffin all over the place," she said.
"It seemed to have been an explosion because there was glass around the place. It blew up the inside hall area and took the fuse box out."
Gardai yesterday said they knew of no motive for the attack on the house, which is divided into nine flats. The door was badly scorched and there was smoke damage to the hallway. The Fire Brigade put out the fire and no one was injured.