Lord Mayor: Criminal activity will not be accepted

“Those responsible will be brought to justice. I sincerely hope that strong sentences are handed down to send a clear message that this kind of criminal activity will not be accepted in our city."

Those were the words of the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Fergal Dennehy speaking following a violent incident in the city this week.

He was speaking on 'The Opinion Line' on Cork’s 96FM on Tuesday following a stabbing the previous night on Leeside.

On Monday night, at around 10pm, a man in his 40s was stabbed on Quaker Road. He was taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The scene was preserved for a forensic examination, and the road remained closed until Tuesday morning.

Independent Cllr Paudie Dineen believes that “the serious incident on Quaker Road” is “an isolated incident and most definitely had no connection to a local business in the area.”

“The incident has come as a shock to all who live close by and I wish to reiterate that incidents of this nature are very, very rare indeed in the area.”

“While I mentioned residents are shocked, we are not surprised as in recent months drugs have become the norm in many areas. I'm not suggesting for one moment that this is the case for last night's incident however drug sellers, drug users, drug mules are seen to be flocking into and out of quiet estates and residential streets buying, selling, using and transporting drugs and this needs to stop and it needs to stop now,” emphasised Cllr Dineen.

He called on the “judiciary to act appropriately” and on “local garda chiefs to immediately set up a drug task force to once and for all rid our residential streets, roads, estates, parks of those who blight our communities and disrupt our daily lives,” concluded Cllr Dineen.

Gardaí have asked anyone with information or video footage relating to the incident to contact Anglesea Street Garda Station on 021-4522000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666111, or any local garda station.