Creche worker injured in Dublin stabbing named as Leanne Flynn as family praise their ‘hero’ after she stopped attacker
THE CRECHE worker injured in the Dublin stabbing has been named as Leanne Flynn – with her family praising her “hero” after she stopped the attacker.
Leanne suffered serious neck injuries after rushing to protect a group of five and six-year-olds from a knifeman in the Irish capital on Thursday.
A girl aged five is critical in hospital after the attack, while two other children, a boy aged five and a girl aged six, were less seriously wounded.
Creche worker Leanne is still in a serious but stable condition at Dublin’s Mater Hospital.
Fr Paul Churchill, who presided over Leanne’s mum’s funeral just last month, hailed her as a “good soul”.
He told the Mail: “It’s sad to hear that it was Leanne. I worked with her to celebrate her mother’s funeral,
“She came across as a very decent lady, a good soul.”
Posting on a GoFundMe page, Leanne’s brother Jonathan also applauded his “hero” sister.
He said: “Leanne hasn’t been able to share her story with everybody yet.
“I’m not gonna put up any details here but she is a hero and I’m so proud of my sister.
“Thanks to everyone who has donated and I hope all involved fully recover.”
A brave young girl with autism was also hailed as a hero after she ran to a nearby hospital to beg for help.
Heroic father Warren Donohoe rushed to tackle the attacker and struggled to pull the knife from his hands as his daughter sprinted to the nearby Rotunda to plead for help.
The knifeman was disarmed by a 17-year-old French trainee chef Alan Loren-Guille and Brazilian Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio.
There have been calls for the heroes to be honoured with medals in both Ireland and their home countries.
The suspect, a man in his 50s, is also in a serious condition in hospital.
The horror stabbing triggered a wave of brutal riots across Dublin.
Around 500 thugs looted shops, clashed with hundreds of riot cops and torched cars, a tram and a double-decker bus – in what Irish PM Leo Varadkar branded a “night of shame”.
The riots were fuelled by an unsubstantiated online rumour that the suspect behind the attacks was a foreign national.
More than 400 police officers were drafted in to quell the street violence across Dublin.
A terrifying Telegram voicenote believed to be behind the riots has been revealed – with a plotter reportedly ordering thugs to tool up and kill foreigners.