A grandmother was “struck violently” with a seven-inch knife while walking through Dublin city centre following a Christmas lights event.
Gretta McCullough said in her victim impact statement, which was read to the court by a garda, that the impact of the knife felt like a brick being smashed into the back of her head. The court heard it “passed through” the back of her head.
The victim described the “random” attack as “silent, sudden and terrifying”. “I did not see my attacker. I did not provoke the attack. I was simply walking with my husband,” she said.
Still in shock and “not fully comprehending the severity” of her injuries, she said she removed the knife herself and handed it to her husband, telling him she had been stabbed.
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She said the defendant had initially attempted to retrieve the knife, which was “firmly embedded” in her head but then ran away.
The woman said in her statement that the violent attack has “permanently altered my sense of safety, my independence”.
The court heard Darragh Quigley, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had ceased to comply with his medication regime at the time of the offence, told gardaí in interviews that he had gone into town with a knife “with a plan of hunting someone and had to follow through”. He told officers it was “purely random”.
Last month, Quigley (26) of Carndonagh Road, Donaghmede, north Dublin, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Gretta McCullough (64) on November 16th, 2023, at Chatham Row, Dublin 2.
At a sentence hearing on Tuesday, Garda Áine Hogan told John Griffin, prosecuting, that Quigley was seen following Ms McCullough and her husband from the Powerscourt Centre on to Chatham Row at about 9.45pm on November 16th.
Garda Hogan said Quigley had lunged at Ms McCullough in “a forceful swinging motion” and put a seven-inch knife through the back of her head, which entered on the left-hand side and exited on the right hand-side of the neck. The officer said the defendant had fled the scene and was arrested the following day.
Garda Hogan told the court that Ms McCullough is originally from Northern Ireland and that she and her husband had moved to Australia when she was 20 years of age. The officer said the victim returned to Ireland six months before this incident, settling in Westport and had come to Dublin city centre to see the Christmas lights being turned on.
Mr Griffin noted that the victim had put her hands up to the back of her head, felt the handle of the knife sticking out on the left hand side and pulled it out.
Garda Hogan said the victim was brought to St James’s Hospital, where she had the “superficial” incised wound – which was 1cm in depth.
Counsel said Ms McCullough didn’t require any inpatient treatment and made a full recovery.
Gardaí launched an investigation and the defendant was arrested at his father’s house and brought to Pearse Street Garda Station.
Quigley told gardaí he had assaulted somebody but that it was random”. He said he had put the kitchen knife, which belonged to his father, in his pocket and gone into town.
Quigley told officers he had spent the last few months watching pornography and “rotting away”. He said he felt genuine remorse for what he had done.
Quigley, the court heard, has no previous convictions but had come to Garda attention on a number of occasions for mental health issues.
In her statement, Ms McCullough said the unprovoked and random nature of the attack has fundamentally damaged her “sense of personal security”.
She said the incident had shattered “what should have been a joyful chapter of my life, returning home to Ireland after many years abroad. Instead of memories of celebration and belonging, that evening is now defined by violence and trauma”.
Mr Justice Paul Burns called the incident “a truly shocking and extremely serious offence”. He remanded Quigley in custodyuntil January 19th.
