Man hurt in 'bizarre' stabbing in quiet Leixlip estate

A man stabbed five times by two attackers at his home yesterday morning as he was preparing to drive his teenage daughter to school has told gardaí he has no idea why he was targeted.

Neighbours in the estate in Leixlip, Co Kildare, said they were shocked that such a violent attack could take place in daylight in a usually quiet neighbourhood.

Gardaí believe the man's attackers lay in wait for up to 30 minutes in a nearby laneway and then launched a premeditated attack.

The victim, John Murphy, who is in his early 40s, was stabbed five times in the shoulder, head and hand as his 14-year-old daughter Lorna looked on.

His wife, Jackie, and two other children, Seán (8) and Daniel (5), were in the family home in the Ryevale Lawn estate when the attackers struck at 8.45am.

Mr Murphy, a building contractor, was loading his Kia Sorrento 4x4 in the driveway of his house when two men dressed in black approached him. Mr Murphy became involved in a scuffle with the men and managed to land a number of blows on one of them.

However, as he did this the other man produced a knife and stabbed him five times. The attackers then ran from the scene. They made no demands for money or car keys.

Gardaí said while the motive did not appear to be robbery, they could not rule it out.

"There was a scuffle and things may have escalated before they got a chance to demand money," said one senior Garda source.

He said Mr Murphy employs about 100 people in his concrete and shuttering firm and it was possible his attackers wrongly believed he had a large amount of money in his possession at the time.

The same source said gardaí had asked the victim if any staff or former staff may hold a grudge against him, but he "couldn't think of anything".

Neighbours in the cul-de-sac where the attack happened heard Mr Murphy's daughter screaming and some came out of their houses to investigate.

One of the neighbours, a nurse, attended to the injured man at the scene until the emergency services arrived. Mr Murphy was taken to Connolly Hospital but his condition was not serious and he was due to be discharged late last night. His daughter was treated for shock.

Local people who spoke to The Irish Times said children going to school just before 8.30am saw two men dressed all in black with black "monkey" hats leaning against a wall at the top of a pedestrian laneway leading from the cul-de-sac where the Murphy house is located. After the attack they ran back down the lane.

They escaped via the nearby Louisa Vale estate, through the Rockingham estate and on to Station Road. Gardaí believe they probably used a vehicle to flee the area.

Supt Mark Curran of Lucan Garda station described the attack as "bizarre" and "totally out of the ordinary for the area".

He asked anybody with information on the incident to contact gardaí at Lucan on 01-6667300.