A Dublin teenager is recovering in hospital after a number of his fingers were hacked off in a brutal knife attack in the Clondalkin area of the city.
Gardaí say the 16-year-old boy was attacked in the kitchen of a house he was in, at around midnight last Saturday morning.
Councillor Trevor Gilligan of Fianna Fáil said locals believe the attack was carried out following a row with criminals in the area.
Mr Gilligan was quoted saying “This is a disgraceful and barbaric attack, the worst I’ve come across since becoming a councillor for the area 10 years ago,” he said.
The teenager is believed to have attempted to flee from his attackers by running into a house in Kilcronan Close where he does not live.
He was then cornerd in the kitchen by a man armed with a large machete-type knife.
The man then proceeded to attack the teenager. The teenager is understood to have had some of his fingers completely severed in the attack and suffered deep lacerations to others, and knife wounds to his hands and arms while trying to protect himself.
He is being treated at St James’ Hospital Dublin. Gardaí have said there has been no arrests, but that they are treating the attack as a serious assault.