Waterford chaplain repeatedly stabbed by teenage boy told his attacker he forgives him
Defence Forces chaplain Fr Paul Murphy
A Defence Forces chaplain who was repeatedly stabbed by a teenage boy motivated by "a radicalised Islamic mindset" told his attacker that he forgives him, with the priest and the defendant later embracing in the courtroom.
Delivering an emotional victim impact statement on Thursday, April 10, Father Paul Murphy told the sentencing judge: "My only desire is that the young man before you would learn to see the error of his ways and, when the time comes, return to society to make a positive contribution to the world as a wholesome, happy, and loving person."
Fr Murphy said if it wasn't him that night it would have been someone else and he was convinced, "without a shadow of a doubt", that he was "the right person, in the right place, at the right time".
He told the court: "Out of all the members of our Defence Forces, I was best placed to take the knife."
He added: "I thank God every single day that the knife tore through my skin, and not through the body of one of my comrades. I consider it an honour and a privilege to carry those scars until my dying day."
He said, "heaven wasn’t ready for me that night".
Turning to the 17-year-old boy in the dock as he read his statement, Fr Murphy, a native of Waterford City, said that he was "in the business of forgiveness" and offered "the young man standing accused before me, the forgiveness that will hopefully help you to become a better person. I believe you are 17 now so you will hopefully have another 80 years of living on this earth."
"My hope and prayer is that you will use whatever resources are put at your disposal, in prison or beyond, to learn a better way of living and that you will use your energy and your talents to make our world a better place for all people to live. Life is for living and for loving, and, I promise you, your life will find its ultimate joy when you live honourably and love generously," continued the priest.
At this point, the teenage boy, who had his parents sitting near him, interrupted Fr Murphy and said aloud: "I'm sorry." The pair were seen to embrace after today's sentence hearing, when the priest talked to his attacker in the dock.
The boy appeared at the Central Criminal Court on Thursday for his sentence hearing, having pleaded guilty last February to the attempted murder of Fr Murphy (52) at Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa, Renmore Barracks in Galway on August 15, 2024. The defendant was 16 at the time of the attack and cannot be identified due to his age.
The victim, a popular chaplain with the 1st Infantry Battalion, suffered multiple stab wounds in the attack while he sat in his car. He was treated for his injuries at University Hospital Galway. Fr Murphy has been a priest for almost 29 years and has ministered in the army for over 11 years, the court heard.
Today's sentencing hearing was told that the boy had "lunged" at the priest with a hunting knife and stabbed him repeatedly. The priest suffered "multiple severe lacerations" to both his arms and there were seven wounds in total. The court heard that Fr Murphy's jeep got 20 metres inside the gate of the barracks but as the vehicle moved, the teenager moved with it trying to stab Fr Murphy.
The boy told gardaí when arrested: "I did it to protest the Irish Defence Forces and their work in Mali and all the stuff for Islam," the Central Criminal Court heard.
The priest said while he can ultimately forgive his attacker the teenager had committed "an appalling crime", which had offended the State, the Irish Defence Forces and "every single soldier who has walked through the gate of our barracks, because it could have been any one of them who was stabbed".
Fr Murphy told the boy he hoped he learned to see "the error of his ways" so that when the time comes he could return to society to make a positive contribution to the world and become a "wholesome, happy and loving person".
The victim of the attempted murder told the court he was just an ordinary priest and was honoured to bear the wounds that scar his skin but would have been much happier to have avoided "the limelight of this process".
The sentencing hearing for the teenager also heard that he had carried out a "totally indiscriminate attack", which could have been inflicted on any member of the Defence Forces.
During the sentence hearing, Detective Sergeant Paul McNulty agreed with Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, that gardaí seized the boy's laptop, iPad and phone and got production orders for his email and social media accounts. They found "a lot of the content was suggestive of a radicalised Islamic mindset" and supportive of the Islamic State and the terrorist group ISIS. Some of the content was very graphic with videos of beheading and other acts of extreme violence from various propaganda ISIS videos. The teenager had a particular interest in British ISIS activist 'Jihadi John', the court heard.
Items seized by detectives in the boy's bedroom included a poster with Arabic writing saying "God is great", the Islamic state flag and sketches depicting beheadings. The defendant denied to gardaí that the sketches were his.
The youth had confirmed to gardaí he had "reverted" to Islamic faith at 15 years of age and had writings in a notebook of Islamic prayers and how to be a devout Muslim. The boy also regularly attended Friday prayers at a mosque.
The boy's defence counsel, Sean Gillane SC, said that there was nothing in his client's life or forensic history to alert anyone that he would be involved in an offence of this nature. "Over a period of time he began to become part of an online community even though it was the opposite of a community in any real sense," he added.
The defence barrister said the boy, who is on the "autism spectrum", was vulnerable to the material he found on the internet, which led to increasing radicalisation and a poisoning of his belief system. He said it ultimately led to his catastrophic and misconceived attempt to seek some sort of revenge on the Irish Defence Forces for the misconceived conclusion he had arrived at about Mali, which was inspired by others.
Addressing the judge in mitigation, Mr Gillane said: "If you did hear him [the boy] say sorry during the victim impact statement, he is sorry and I ask that you deal with him as leniently as you possibly can."
Fr Murphy began his statement with the words: "I only went for a swim."
The priest said on Thursday, August 15, 2024, he had returned from the swimming pool as he did most nights "but this night was different".
"I observed the usual security protocols when approaching a military installation; I turned off my headlights and turned on my car’s interior light. Someone approached my driver’s side window and once I lowered the window, he immediately started trying to kill me with a knife.
"Knowing not to touch the long blade which was shining before my eyes, I grabbed his wrists with my two hands but, having the advantage of standing outside the car, he was able to pull back, breaking my grip, and started stabbing me again. In an attempt to escape the piercing knife, I drove ahead, crashing through the gates of the barracks, while my assailant kept pace with me and continued to try to rob me of my life.
"When my car came to a natural stop at a kerb, I struggled to fend off my attacker through the open window, and subsequently through my open door, until our duty soldiers intervened and overpowered the aggressor. While I can remember each gory detail, I believe the attempted murder lasted only about 90 seconds."
He continued: "Much has been written about this case, and news stations around the world covered it extensively. One interesting observation is that from a few articles that people sent me, I felt that I was watching my own funeral. By changing one or two key words, these news reports read as my obituary. Mercifully, they read positively. I did not see or hear much news, nor read much online or in the papers, but one angle proffered was that ‘the poor priest was just in the wrong place at the wrong time’."
Fr Murphy said August 15 is celebrated annually throughout the Catholic world as the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven. "While Our Blessed Lady had her place in Heaven assured, Heaven wasn’t ready for me that night! That night was also the vigil of the anniversary of the death of the Irish Jesuit, Fr Willie Doyle, an Army Chaplain who was killed in battle in the First World War. I felt his intercession that night."
He added: "Others ran to the scene to assist with the detention of the attacker, and to stem the flow of blood from my severed arms with expert first-aid treatment and welcome reassurance. Along with the divine ‘top cover’, I had exceptional ‘ground cover’ too, and I am forever grateful to those who saved my life that night.
"So, what has changed now? How has this impacted my life? As one could imagine, I was unable to celebrate Holy Masses for almost three months after the attack and I could not drive either, due to my injuries and the loss of my car. I am more cautious about whom I open my car window to nowadays. As I approach the barracks, which is my home, I am cautious about potential dangers lurking in the area, especially when I am walking. Now, when I go to our Garrison Church every night to pray and to prepare for the following morning’s Mass, I lock the door behind me and am extra-vigilant when leaving the church into the darkness outside.
"The attack on me wasn’t personal so I don’t feel particularly vulnerable, but, with good reason, I cannot rule it out from happening again. Sometimes, when one man fails in a mission, another takes up the mantle and, with that in mind, I will probably never fully feel free. On the advice of many friends and comrades I have undertaken counselling sessions which, along with my physiotherapy, is ongoing. I have not regained the strength in my left arm that I previously enjoyed and I have lost sensation in much of my left forearm."
The priest addressed the judge at the end of his statement saying: "Every crime warrants an appropriate punishment and every sentence should serve as a deterrent to others from perpetrating similar crimes. It falls to you to give sentence in this case and, assuming that it will be custodial, length of years is not what interests me. My only desire is that the young man before you would learn to see the error of his ways and, when the time comes, return to society to make a positive contribution to the world as a wholesome, happy, and loving person."
Fr Murphy concluded his statement by saying: "May it please the Lord above that the events, which have led us to today, may educate us all about the overarching need for love, forgiveness and hope in our world."
At Thursday's sentencing hearing before the Central Criminal Court, Detective Garda McNulty detailed the background of the event, telling Mr Delaney, prosecuting, that the boy's parents had separated during 2023.
On August 15, the boy left his home at 10pm and cycled across the city to Renmore Barracks. He arrived outside the barracks at 10.30pm and locked his bike to a tree down a side road before removing his cycling gear.
Fr Murphy, the court heard, was living in Renmore Barracks in Galway and working as the chaplain. He had done five tours overseas in Syria and Lebanon and had been an army chaplain since 2013.
The boy was seen on CCTV footage emerging from a side road with a rucksack on his back and took position outside the entrance gate to the barracks. A private, who was on duty, noted the boy looking in the gate before he disappeared out of view, said the witness.
The detective said Fr Murphy had been swimming and was stopped in his car at the gates of the barracks at 10.40pm, when the defendant approached the driver's window. The private heard the boy say: "Excuse me sir, have you a minute to talk to me?"
The court heard that the boy "lunged" at the priest with a hunting knife as soon as the window was lowered and began stabbing him repeatedly in the arms. Fr Murphy moved towards the centre console of the car and tried to grab the boy's arms but as he did this his foot came off the brake and the automatic car went forward. The car got 20 metres inside the gate of the barracks but as it moved the attacker held onto the vehicle and moved with it, while continuing to stab the priest multiple times in his two arms.
The detective said four shots were fired by the sentry on duty but that didn't stop the boy and he persisted.
A number of soldiers then tackled the boy to the ground inside the gates of the barracks. The court heard there was "blood everywhere", mainly coming from the priest's arms. The assault continued and the car moved forward again. It was only at this point that the accused was restrained and the assault came to an end, the court heard.
One of the private's called "stand to" and two others on duty went immediately to the scene. They shouted several times for the defendant to drop the knife and "get to ground" but the boy failed to respond to warnings. Five warning shots were discharged into the air by those with official firearms. Gardai and emergency services arrived and Fr Murphy was brought to hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
The detective said the boy was searched by gardaí at the scene and "a scabbard" for the hunting knife was found attached to the inside of his tracksuit bottoms. The knife, which had an eight-inch serrated blade, was recovered at the scene a short time later. The knife had been purchased online and delivered to the boy's home on November 28, 2023.
The boy was arrested on suspicion of assault causing harm and after caution stated: "I did it, I attacked the guy in the car, I did it to protest the Irish Defence Forces and their work in Mali and all the stuff for Islam."
A warrant was obtained from a special sitting of the District Court that night to search the boy's home and it was executed in the early hours of August 16.
The boy's phone, the court heard, couldn't be examined by gardaí as he would not provide the six digit pin to gain access. He was interviewed on four occasions and answered some questions, said the detective. He claimed to have no real recollection of the incident but apologised to the victim and said he didn't realise it was a priest.
During his final interview the boy spoke about certain mental health problems, such as depression and some anger issues. He also told gardaí that he loses control of himself.
When asked how that had affected what happened that night, the boy said it was anger and not depression and he didn't "know what made me do it".
The Defence Forces made inquiries arising out of the comments made by the boy about 'Mali'. The detective said the Irish Defence Forces were involved in two missions in Mali going back to 2013 and 2021, where they trained Mali Defence Forces and agreed with the prosecutor that the mission had come to an end by August 2024.
The witness also agreed with Mr Delaney that Fr Murphy had not been a "specific target" for this offence and his car was the first to come to the gates of Renmore Barracks after the boy had arrived.
Following treatment, the court heard, it was the surgeon's opinion that Fr Murphy would be left with permanent scars from the lacerations and reduced function in his left arm.
The court heard that the priest is more vigilant since the attack by checking his car door and locking himself in. He is having counselling from a fellow priest who is a trained psychotherapist.
The court heard that the boy has no previous convictions.
Under cross-examination, the detective agreed with Mr Gillane that the boy's parents were separated, which was a difficulty for him. He also agreed that the boy said in garda interviews that he didn't know who the priest was, that he was sorry and felt awful for what had happened. He further agreed that there was "trace evidence of radicalisation" on the boy's devices.
Mr Gillane asked the court to take into account his client being diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, which he hoped would help the court understand how this sort of thing had happened due to a fixated thinking and impulsive actions.
"None of that excuses what happened but it may help the court understand," said counsel.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded the boy to Oberstown Detention Centre until April 29, when he will be sentenced.
