Dublin’s fearless four: Nursery worker, autistic child, Deliveroo driver and French student are hailed as heroes after tackling knifeman during horror attack on schoolchildren in Ireland

• Teenager Alan Loren-Guille leapt into action during the Dublin knife attack

A nursery worker, a Deliveroo driver, an autistic child and now a teenager have been hailed as the ‘heroes’ of Dublin after a knifeman assaulted three schoolchildren and their carer on Thursday, with more than £400,000 raised in their honour.

French police commissioner Matthieu Valet is calling for a 17-year-old boy to get Legion d’honneur after he bravely disarmed the attacker in Ireland.

Alan Loren-Guille, a French high school student, had been working at his internship in a Dublin restaurant when the shocking incident unfolded just after 1.30pm.

As the knifeman – suspected to be a man in his 50s – attacked the children in Dublin’s Parnell Square, Alan, from Ardennes, bravely intervened to disarm him.

He is one of four courageous civilians who jumped into action, ending the assault on three schoolchildren and their care assistant outside a school in the north inner city, which left a five-year-old girl in critical condition.

Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio, 43, also helped halt the attack, using his helmet to hit the man – saying ‘I didn’t have time to be afraid, I just acted’.

Heroic father Warren Donohoe rushed to tackle the man and tried to pull the knife from him as his daughter rushed to the nearby Rotunda to get help.

Garrett FitzGerald said his son, six, was also present at the square but he was saved by his brave care worker who ‘stepped in front’ of children at a school outing to protect them during the bloody rampage.

A five-year-old girl and woman in her 30s were last night still in critical condition at hospital following the stabbing spree. Two other children, a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl were less seriously wounded.

The suspect, is a man in his 50s, is also being treated in hospital and is in serious condition.

Alan Loren-Guille, a French high school student, had been working at his internship in a Dublin restaurant when the shocking incident unfolded just after 1.30pm

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Ireland’s capital had endured two attacks – one on innocent children and the other on ‘our society and the rule of law’ 

The French police commissioner commended the actions of 17-year-old Alan on X yesterday.

He said on X: ‘Alan Loren-Guille, [the] hero who disarmed the knife attacker yesterday afternoon in Ireland. 

‘Bravo to this 17-year-old who only listened to his courage to stop a criminal who had just stabbed a woman, a man and three children including a five-year-old girl. 

‘This French high school student from the Ardennes has been doing an internship in a restaurant in Dublin since October. 

‘I hope that he will be awarded the Legion of Honor by the President, M. Macron, because he is an example for the nation.’

The trainee chef, who works as a stagiaire at popular Dublin 8 restaurant Spitalfields, was not injured in the chaos, and a GoFundMe was set up yesterday to ‘Buy Alan Loren-Guille a pint (hero)’.

The fundraiser has £3,824 in donations so far. 

A similar fundraiser was set up for Brazilian Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio, with a whopping £280,253 raised in a day.

The fundraiser reads: ‘The man’s a hero and the least we can do is buy him a pint, so I’m asking you to donate the price of a pint of Guinness in your local so that he knows the people of Dublin appreciate him.’

Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio stopped the knife attacker by hitting him with a helmet

READ MORE: Dublin’s ‘night of shame’ is condemned by Irish PM as the city recovers from riots that saw looting and arson attacks ‘motivated by hate’ after knife attack on children – with girl, five, now in ‘very serious condition’ 

Father-of-two Mr Benicio also said on RTÉ’s Liveline that the Brazilian Embassy has been in contact with him to offer him a medal for his actions.

He told the Irish Independent that he wasn’t scared when he acted on Thursday.

‘I didn’t have time to be afraid. I have two kids myself and I didn’t have time to be afraid, I just acted,’ he said.

Mr Benicio said he originally thought that it was a fight involving a man and a woman.

‘I was working like a normal day. And I was passing by in Parnell Square. For me, at first, it looked like a fight, a normal fight. I slowed down my motorcycle and it was a man and a woman,’ he said.

He then noted how he saw a woman fighting to save a young girl.

‘She was very, very brave. She was fighting for a girl, you know, a little girl. I was like, ‘what’s happening here’ and then I saw him with a knife and he grabbed a little girl,’ Mr Benicio added.

He then witnessed the man stab the little girl.

‘I stopped my bike and I don’t know, I acted by instinct… I took off my helmet and hit him with the helmet on the head,’ he said.

‘I think that made him stop,’ he added.

A police cordon is in place after the stabbing attack which took place on Thursday

Mr Benicio said the man fell to the ground. He then hit him a couple of times and others helped to keep him there. Mr Benicio then went to see the girl.

READ MORE: Dublin on a knife edge: Country’s PM condemns ‘shameful and disgraceful’ rioters while Conor McGregor blasts ‘people who should not even be in Ireland’ following night of violence sparked by child stabbing 

Another brave father, Warren Donohoe, also intervened to try and save the children while his daughter – who has autism – rushed to a nearby hospital for help.

A fundraiser set up for Mr Donohoe has raised £1,044 so far. 

His wife posted on social media to say how her husband and Mr Benicio worked together to disarm the man.

Stacey Power said on X: ‘My Abigail went missing for what felt like hours.

‘She ran when she seen what was happening, the whole way around the block to the Rotunda warning everyone on her way to turn around and get inside to be safe.

‘She screamed the Rotunda down ‘get the nurses,’ begging them to run and ‘help the kids they’re being stabbed.”

The worried mum shared a picture of her husband’s grey jumper, which was completely ripped open with what appears to be the attackers knife, but the father-of-four didn’t suffer any injuries.

Mrs Power added that the 11-year-old girl woke up ‘still in shock’ this morning after the attack which occurred on her birthday.

The fourth ‘hero of Dublin’ – a courageous nursery worker – has not yet been publicly named.

Garrett FitzGerald has told of the ‘absolute hero’ worker who saved a group of children

A thread of tweets from Garrett recounting the woman’s heroic efforts on Thursday

Garrett FitzGerald said the worker ‘stepped in front’ of the crazed knifeman to protect his six-year-old son and a group of terrified children.

Posting on X, he wrote: ‘My son’s care worker stepped in front of a knife for him and the other kids. She wrestled the guy long enough to allow the other kids to run away and for help to arrive. Words fail me.

‘She’s an absolute hero. A friend has started a GoFundMe for herself and the school. If anyone wanted to throw a few lids here it would much appreciated.’

The fundraising campaign has drummed up more than £160,000 so far.

Started by Paul McIntyre, it states that it is looking to raise funds to ‘support the children and the carer in Gaelscoil Colaiste Mhuire who were victims of a horrific attack at their school… by a stranger with a knife as the children were leaving school to be collected by their parents’.

It adds: ‘This is a small Gaelscoil (all Irish school) in the heart of Dublin City Centre and is almost like a small family and this attack has shocked parents, students and the whole school staff to their core and your help and support would be greatly appreciated at this time.

‘This should be the most special time of year for all children and at the school they are currently practising for their Christmas school play and your help and donations will assist the school in making this year as special as possible for the children and staff that have been impacted by this terrible event.

‘I would also like to raise funds to support the carer who bravely put herself in front of so many children so they could run to safety while putting her own life at risk.’

A clean-up operation was underway after battles broke out between rioters and police

The stabbing spree triggered a wave of rioting in Dublin

Fires burned in Dublin on Thursday night after riots broke out in the city centre after the attack

Mr McIntyre added: ‘Having known this lady for many years and having two children attend this school, I can say this lady is nothing short of a superhero tonight and we will be forever grateful for her and wish her a speedy recovery from her injuries.

‘Unfortunately due to her significant injuries she will now be out of work for the foreseeable future and we would love to be able to support her in her time of need like she did for the children so bravely.’

Mr FitzGerald added: ‘She was one of many heroes yesterday including passers-by who intervened, first responders and the children themselves.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those still in hospital and anyone who has been affected by this awful tragedy.’

Dublin’s ‘night of shame’ was condemned by Ireland’s Prime Minister this morning as a clean-up operation got underway following battles between rioters and police.

Around 500 thugs fought running battles with riot cops, looted shops and torched a double-decker bus in anger over an attack in which three children and two adults – a woman in her 30s and the suspected knifeman – were injured on Thursday.

Pictures from the Irish capital this morning showed council workers removing the wrecks of burned-out buses and cars, which were torched by the thugs as they rampaged through the streets and looted shops.

Police officers work at the scene of a suspected stabbing that left children injured in Dublin

The smell of burning plastic and rubber still hung thick in the air on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, where a tram was also set on fire by the rioters, reports said.

READ MORE: ‘I smashed Dublin knifeman in his head with my helmet. He went down’: Hero Brazilian Deliveroo rider tells how he ended school bloodbath 

In an update this morning, police said 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’.

One Garda officer received a serious injury, with ‘numerous other members injured’ as missiles were thrown at them. Ireland’s Justice Minister said anyone found guilty of attacking officers faces up to 12 years in prison under ‘very strong legislation’.

Meanwhile, a man described only as being in his fifties is suspected over the initial attack, which was carried out at 1.30pm outside a school on Dublin’s Parnell Square East, in the north-centre of the city.

One of the children – a five-year-old girl, and the woman – said to be a teacher or care assistant, are both in a critical condition, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.

He said those involved in the riots ‘brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves’.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris told reporters this morning that no arrest has been made over the knife attack but a suspect has been identified. He added it was ‘disgraceful’ that Garda inquiries were disrupted by the riots in Dublin.

The violence was fuelled by rumours about the attacker’s nationality. Some of the mob blamed ‘migrants’ for the stabbing incident on the square.

Mr Varadkar said his government would take immediate steps to tighten anti-hate legislation he said was unfit for the social media age.

‘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.

‘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,’ he said in an emotional statement.

Meanwhile, pictures from Dublin today showed the city’s best-known thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, dominated by the charred remains of burnt-out vehicles.

These are being removed, as well as debris on the streets and shattered glass, following attacks on some shops and looting.

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