‘Instinct took over’ says Belfast knife attack hero who tackled suspect with son’s hurling stick

“People have called us heroes but to be honest I’d like to think most people would’ve got stuck in and helped if they could.”

The ‘North Belfast knife attack hero’ has recalled the moment he tackled the suspect with his son’s hurling stick, fearing for the victim’s safety.

Maitiu Mág Tighearnán intervened during the knife attack in the Kinnaird Avenue area of North Belfast on Monday night, June 8, to rescue the victim, Stephen Ogilvie.

Sudanese man Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, charged with the attempted stabbing murder of Mr Ogilvie, threats to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and possession of a knife.

He has been remanded in custody for four weeks. The court heard that the 44-year-old victim had lost his left eye and received deep cuts to his head, face and back.

32-year-old Mág Tighearnán and a friend said they jumped out of their car to rescue Mr Ogilvie as he lay on the ground. The pair had stumbled across the horrifying incident by chance as they took a short-cut to a petrol station.

Mr Mág Tighearnán, from West Belfast, who had been driving, told the Daily Mail: “I turned into Kinnaird Avenue and I could see another car stopped in the middle of the road a little further up. The woman driving then began reversing at speed as though she was trying to get away from something.

“She stopped as I approached and I drove round her, and as I did so we could see what looked to be two men fighting in the street, with one on top of the other. This was late at night and so we thought we better go and break it up. Andre was in the front passenger seat and he jumped out first.

“He’s trained in Brazilian jujitsu and so he approached them to separate them, but as he got closer he saw the knife. It looked to be a serrated steak-knife but with a broken handle. He shouted to me that the man attacking the other had a knife and to get something to help.”

At this point, Mr Mág Tighearnán said he thought someone was going to lose their life: “I’d taken my son to hurling practice earlier that evening and so I’d got out of the car, gone to the boot and grabbed his hurling stick. Instinct took over and I ran over and I smashed this guy over the head with the hurling stick. Right on the flat side, about three times. As hard as I could.

“Andre was a few seconds behind and he came running in and tried to subdue the attacker with an ankle-hold so he could free the victim. I hit this guy again, hard, but it didn’t seem to phase him. He did stumble back, though and dropped the knife. I think another man who’d been watching came in and kicked the knife away.

“We were trying to roll the attacker onto his stomach to subdue him but he was struggling. The police then arrived and four officers took over before armed tactical support turned up.”

Mr Mág Tighearnán, who runs his own removal company, added that the victim, Mr Ogilvie, was “still conscious but weak with all the blood loss”.

“When he was taken away, he looked to have a horrible injury to his eye. The knifeman was led away by six officers but they were still struggling with him. I’m glad we intervened when we did. It was pure chance that we’d gone that route to the petrol station.

“People have called us heroes but to be honest I’d like to think most people would’ve got stuck in and helped if they could. I just hope the victim pulls through and manages to recover as best he can,” he added.

Maitiu’s proud partner, Aoife O’Reilly, described him as “very, very humble”, adding, “I couldn’t be prouder of Matt. This is my partner and the father of my child who stood in and hopefully saved a man’s life last night.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched to ‘buy a pint’ for Maitiu, reaching over £20,000 in less than 24 hours, with the organiser, Niall Donnan, saying he has been told that Maitu wants to share some of the funds with the victim.

Maitiu wrote online that he had stumbled on the attack ‘by chance’ and that he ‘got out to protect a young lad’ when he saw what was happening and that the police had yet to arrive.

If you would like to donate and buy a pint for the ‘knife attack hero’ please follow this link.

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