A man is to appear in court this morning charged in connection with the stabbing of a street performer in Dublin city centre last night.
The performer is recovering today after he was stabbed by a man who jumped from a large crowd at about 7.30pm.
Gardaí, who were nearby at the time, said the man's condition was not life-threatening and that he was treated at St James's Hospital.
Witnesses saw a small man suddenly run from the crowd and grapple the man to the ground before stabbing him.
"A guy just ran out of the crowd and attacked a big coloured guy. He tackled him to the ground, punched him a couple of times and then they knocked a couple of tables over in a cafe beside them. That's when I noticed a knife, a big knife," said Paul Wood, a tourist from the United Kingdom.
"After he was stabbed, the guy ran back out into the square with blood all over his T-shirt. Then he just lay on the ground and a crowd gathered around him. I thought it was part of the act until I saw the knife," Mr Wood said.
Witnesses said the injured man was one of two who regularly busked together at that spot.
A garda at the scene said they had been walking past Temple Bar Square and heard the commotion. A member of the public had begun to catch the man with the knife just before they arrived.
A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene and was questioned at Pearse Street Garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. A Garda spokesman said he would appear in court this morning.