Dublin Council to honour Leanne Flynn for bravery

Dublin City Council has voted to formally honour crèche worker Leanne Flynn for her bravery during a knife attack on school children in Parnell Square in November 2023. The council passed an emergency motion on Monday evening, agreeing to hold a special event this autumn where Lord Mayor Daryl Baron will express the city's gratitude.

Flynn was stabbed while intervening to protect multiple children from attacker Riad Bouchaker. Bouchaker, a 52-year-old Algerian national and Irish citizen, was convicted last week of the attempted murder of three children and of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Flynn. He was also found guilty of assaulting two other children and a French teenager who intervened, as well as producing a 36-centimeter kitchen knife.

During the attack on November 23, 2023, Flynn was fastening a child's coat when she noticed Bouchaker advancing. She sustained a major stab wound to her lower back, which damaged her spleen, lungs, diaphragm, and stomach. Her injuries required two emergency surgeries, an induced coma, and a month-long hospital stay. She has not been able to return to work.

The motion to honour Flynn was tabled by Sinn Féin and received...