According to recent reports one of Ireland’s most dangerous predators is set to leave the country after he was set upon by a number of men in a vigilante attack.
The man, convicted kidnapper Philip Murphy aged 35 was reportedly attacked by eight men after he left a shop in the Parkgate Street area of the city last Sunday. Gardaí who have since launched an investigation say Mr Murphy was deliberately targeted by the group in a brutal attack.
Murphy from Clondalkin, has been under threat ever since he was released from Arbour Hill Prison in February where he served a 10-year sentence for kidnapping a woman in 2008.
Gardaí say the attack took place at approximately 6pm on Sunday August 21st, when four men jumped out of a car and assaulted Murphy as he walked on Montpelier Hill, close to the Phoenix Park. Reports say that after being struck several times, he fled into a shop in nearby Parkgate Street.
According to the Sunday Mirror, Murphy is now apparently planning to leave Ireland. “He has been getting ready to leave Ireland even though he has reportedly been offered an apartment to live in. He got a passport a couple of months ago and his plan is to leave the country soon,” a source told the newspaper.
It is believed Murphy was brought to St James’s Hospital for treatment and on Monday he made a statement to Gardaí about the assault, who have since begun collecting CCTV footage in relation to the investigation.
Murphy who is considered to be highly dangerous has been arrested and questioned on a number of occasions, including the alleged attempted false imprisonment of two women in the Drumcondra area of Dublin. He is also believed to be a suspect in a failed abduction attempt in Navan, Co Meath, in February.
Murphy was released earlier this year after he was jailed in 2009 for falsely imprisoning a Polish woman in Clondalkin on June 7, 2008. Murphy’s victim had been waiting at a bus stop at 6.30am when Murphy offered her a lift.
When the woman asked him to stop the car he took out a large knife and said he would “cut” her if she screamed.