Belfast stabbing ‘hero’ speaks out after ‘smashing’ attacker with son’s hurling stick
Passer-by, Matt McKiernan leapt into action when he stumbled across a man being stabbed in a Belfast street – he grabbed his son’s hurling stick from the boot of his car to fend off the attacker
Matt and Andre ran to help(Image: london_ukstreetnews/Instagram )
A man who leapt into action when he came across a man being stabbed in the street has said he did what anyone else would have done. Matt McKiernan, 32 grabbed his son’s hurling stick out of the boot of the car and “smashed” the knifeman repeatedly over the head.
He and his friend, Andre who is trained in Brazilian jujitsu, had been to the petrol station when they saw the horror unfolding. A man in his 40s was left with serious injuries to his eyes and neck after being ambushed.
The suspect, a Sudanese national aged in his 30s, who entered the UK across the Irish border having flown from Paris to Dublin, has been charged with attempted murder and is due to appear in court on Wednesday, June 10.
Matt, from West Belfast, told MailOnline: “I turned into Kinnaird Avenue and I could see another car stopped in the middle of the road a little further up.
“The woman driving then began reversing at speed as though she was trying to get away from something. She stopped as I approached and I drove round her and as I did so we could see what looked to be two men fighting in the street, with one on top of the other.
“This was late at night and so we thought we better go and break it up. Andre was in the front passenger seat and he jumped out first.”
Matt said Andre spotted the knife and shouted for help. He added: “‘I’d taken my son to hurling practice earlier that evening and so I’d got out of the car, gone to the boot and grabbed his hurling stick.
‘Instinct took over and I ran over and I smashed this guy over the head with the hurling stick. Right on the flat side, about three times. As hard as I could.”
Andre got the attacker in an ankle hold before police arrived, Matt explained.
Matt, who runs his own removal company and whose name is Maitiu Mág Tighearnán in Irish, added: “I’m glad we intervened when we did. It was pure chance that we’d gone that route to the petrol station.
“People have called us heroes but to be honest I’d like to think most people would’ve got stuck in and helped if they could. I just hope the victim pulls through and manages to recover as best he can.”
But despite his humble response, his heroic actions inspired a pal to set up a GoFundMe page to “buy him a pint.” Within hours, the page amassed over £10,000.
To donate to the fundraiser, click here.
