The hero who hit the alleged Belfast knifeman with a hurling stick has called for an end to the violent protests that has seen homes torched and cars set alight.
Maitiu Mag Tighearnan was widely praised after he bravely fought off a man who launched a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday.
The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, suffered serious injuries to his eyes, neck and back and remains in a coma following the attack on Kinnaird Avenue. Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan, has been charged with attempted murder and appeared in court on Wednesday.
Mr Tighearnan, 32, had reportedly been visiting his partner when he stumbled upon the violence. He was seen repeatedly hitting the attacker in an intervention later praised by Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, as “the very best of humanity”.
He has now said he wants to see an end to the violent demonstrations across the city which have seen mobs taking to the streets, setting fire to cars, attacking police and torching homes belonging to ethnic minorities.
“Everyone is entitled to their right of opinion and their right to protest. When it turns violent, then you lose sight of the protest and what it stands for,” he said speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
Asked about why he put his own safety at risk to help the victim, who is aged in his 40s, he added: “We grew up in west Belfast and a lot of people have that mentality.
“At the end of the day there was a man lying there and he needed help. It was a natural reaction.
“Most people from where we grew up would have done the same. Belfast at the moment gets a bad rep but the whole area is a community-spirited place.”
He added: “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.”
Once he had immobilised the alleged attacker, another man supported him and kicked the suspect. Seconds later two police officers arrived.
“I hit this guy again, hard, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He did stumble back, though. I think another man who’d been watching came in,” Mr Tighearnan said.
