Family of young girl injured in Parnell Square stabbing mark two year anniversary as they shut down fundraising page

Sarah Slater

The mother of a little girl who was seriously injured in a multiple stabbing incident outside a primary school on Parnell Square two years ago has said they “are living in the moment and grateful for it” as she marks the anniversary.

The stabbing occurred outside Coláiste Mhuire national school in Dublin 1 on November 23rd, 2023, in which several others were injured.

Aged five at the time of the attack, the girl was critically injured and spent the majority of last year in Temple Street Children’s Hospital before being released from medical care for a year.

The family have continued to share updates on a GoFundMe page, set up following the incident, which has raised almost €143,000.

Recently celebrating her seventh birthday, her mother explained that by the end of this month, they will be taking down their fundraising page, with legal proceedings around the incident starting next month.

“We believe that it is time, plus we will focus on the legal proceedings due to commence in December. But most importantly, we will continue to focus on our family,” she said.

Riad Bouchaker (50) is currently before the courts charged with three counts of attempted murder, one of producing and possessing a kitchen knife, three counts of assault causing harm and one of assault causing serious harm.

She added: “This Sunday marks two years of the incident on Parnell Square, but it was a Thursday like this one that resonates in my mind. I have since dreaded Thursdays; constantly checking my phone to make sure everyone and everything is alright. Two years... two years! The pain is there, but it is not raw. It has been shelled by love and strength.”

But she pointed out that the joy she sees in her little girl's eyes is “enough to chip away any ache my heart carries”.

“I do cry still, but not as often or as painfully as I did before. The cry is for missing the old her or imagining what we would be up to at seven years of age.

“Two years of drive to live. Two years of hard work and dedication. Two years of relearning. And two years of us embracing this new girl we have been gifted with,” she noted.

The Dublin girl’s mother highlighted that even though the family does not know what will happen over the next two years, they are “living in the moment and grateful for it".

She reiterated that they are “beyond thankful” to all of those who placed them in their prayers and who have been “so generous to complete strangers”.

“We are also humbled by all those people who showed everyone involved in the attack that day that kindness and help can come in all shapes and sizes, and that you did not do it for any other reason besides helping. You are truly heroic. All our appreciation from the bottom of our hearts.”