'Hunter' who plunged knife through grandmother's neck in random city centre attack gets 12 years

A 26-year-old man from north Dublin has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for the attempted murder of a woman in Dublin city centre on 16 November 2023. Darragh Quigley pleaded guilty to attacking the victim, a 64-year-old grandmother originally from Donegal who had relocated to Westport, County Mayo, without provocation or warning. The assault occurred near Chatham Row in Dublin 2 as the woman walked with her husband following the Christmas lights switch-on event. Quigley followed the couple for several minutes before striking from behind with a seven-inch knife. The blade penetrated through her neck, entering on one side and exiting the other. Despite the severity of the injury, the knife narrowly avoided vital structures, and the woman sustained superficial injuries requiring hospital treatment. She was discharged the same evening. Gardaí arrested Quigley the following day. During questioning, he disclosed that he had deliberately armed himself with the knife and travelled into the city centre with the explicit intention of attacking a stranger at random. Mr Justice Paul Burns described the assault as entirely unprovoked and noted the defendant's clear intention to kill. The court heard that Quigley has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was actively psychotic at the time of the offence. He had ceased taking prescribed medication prior to the attack. In imposing the 12-year custodial sentence, the judge considered the premeditated nature of the crime, the defendant's armed state, and the randomness of the victim selection, balanced against evidence of his mental health condition. The case underscores the local connection to Donegal, with the victim having roots in Carndonagh before settling in Mayo.