Man guilty of attempted murder of three children in Dublin

A 52-year-old man has been found guilty of the attempted murder of three children and assaulting four other people in Dublin's Parnell Square in November 2023.

Riad Bouchaker, of no fixed address, was also found guilty of assault causing serious harm to crèche worker Leanne Flynn, and of assaulting two other children and a teenager.

The Central Criminal Court heard that a five-year-old girl has been left with a life-long brain injury after Bouchaker stabbed her in the heart.

In total, he was found guilty of all eight charges, which he had had denied.

The jury was sent out on Tuesday, they deliberated for around six hours and reached a verdict on Wednesday afternoon.

They found Bouchaker guilty on all counts.

Bouchaker was liaising with his interpreter upon hearing the verdict.

Judge Tony Hunt thanked the jury for their "hard work" and he said "having to listen by some of what you heard is very difficult".

He also thanked the jury for their verdicts and said they are "entirely in line with the evidence that you heard".

Sentencing has been set for 12 October and Bouchaker will be remanded in custody until then.

The attack on 23 November 2023 sparked riots across much of Dublin.

The most riot police in Irish state history were deployed to deal with the unrest.

Within hours of the attack, rioters destroyed 11 police vehicles, while 13 shops were badly damaged and more were looted during clashes with riot police.

Three buses and a tram were also destroyed and several police officers were injured during three hours of sustained violence.

Ireland's police chief at the time, Drew Harris blamed the rioting on a "lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology".