The horrific attack on Parnell Square on Thursday afternoon ultimately led to a night of rioting which left much of Dublin city centre in tatters come Friday morning.
A lone attacker stabbed three children and a carer outside a primary school on Parnell Square early on Thursday afternoon, leaving a five-year-old child in a critical condition in hospital, while the carer is also in a serious condition.
The horrifying incident would lead to a night of bedlam on O'Connell Street and around the surrounding area, with a double-decker Dublin Bus and a LUAS both set on fire, as well as numerous assaults on Gardaí attempting to deal with the situation.
It was a black day in the capital's history, and the thoughts and prayers of all in the city remain with the child and carer who remain under serious care in Dublin hospitals.
At the centre of the incident was a heroic Deliveroo driver, Caio Benício, who thwarted the attacker and prevented further injuries. The Irish public have found a touching way to pay tribute to his heroism with a new GoFundMe page.
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Touching GoFundMe set up for heroic Deliveroo rider
Speaking to the Irish Times on Thursday, Brazilian Deliveroo driver Caio Benício recounted how he had neutralised the culprit of the shocking stabbing attack on primary school children in Dublin city.
Father-of-two Caio Benício intervened in the knife attack at a school on Parnell Square, in which three children and a woman were injured. Video: Enda O'Dowd and Isobel Boechat pic.twitter.com/1SXAljzUPh
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) November 24, 2023
Benício said that he had been driving by when he witnessed the scene, and instinctively rushed to get the attacker away from the children in harm's way:
I work as a delivery driver. I was working a normal day, and I was passing by here in Parnell Square. Then I saw a fight...at first, I thought it was a normal fight, and then I realised there was a little girl involved.
I saw a man trying to pull the girl and a woman tried to pull the girl as well. Then I found out she was a teacher, she was very brave, I have to tell.
I rode out my motorcycle to see what's going on, and when I saw the man, he pulled a knife. When I saw a knife, I stopped my motorcycle very quickly and I saw him stabbing him in the chest, I don't know how many times...it was like seconds.
I left my motorcycle and took off my helmet to protect myself and to hit him. I hit him in the head, and he fell down.
In further interviews, Benício would say that he made the decision on "pure instinct" and that he has two children of his own.
The Deliveroo rider would even say that he leapt in despite a recent injury to his knee, and said that he would be praying that the five-year-old child and her carer would pull through:
If a child didn't survive, I would always think I could have been faster.
I chose to have surgery on my knee recently, it made me slow to get off the bike. Could I have been faster? If all the victims survive, I will be thankful that I was in the right place at the right time.
Much of the rhetoric coming from those who propagated the chaos and disorder in Dublin on Thursday night revolved around immigration and closing the borders, with the hateful speech seemingly emanating from far-right groups.
The fact that Thursday's attack was thwarted by an immigrant has not been lost on most of the Irish public, and the appreciation for Caio Benício's actions is plain to see in a fundraiser set up for the heroic Deliveroo driver.
Simply titled 'Buy Caio Benicio a pint,' the GoFundMe page encourages the public to donate the price of a pint of Guinness in their local pub, with all money going directly to the Deliveroo rider.
Remarkably, over €165,000 has been donated already.
Perhaps the most touching element of the GoFundMe page is that there are few donations larger than €10. There is of course the odd generous contributor who has put in a large sum but, for the most part, people are indeed donating the price of a pint in their local, with over 16,000 donations as of 17:30 on Friday afternoon.
The thing I love about this the most is that there’s nearly 9,000 donators. It is pretty much just ordinary folk donating the price of a pint to the man. He deserves every single cent too https://t.co/jSOV0nCp3G
— Dodge (@seidodge) November 24, 2023
The collective spirit of chipping in for a true hero of Dublin is, one would hope, a more resonant reflection of this country than the horrific scenes which left Dublin reeling on Thursday night.
You can buy Caio a pint at the GoFundMe page here.
We join him in willing on all those in a serious condition from Thursday's attacks to a speedy recovery.
