Belfast Hero Reveals He Fought Off Knifeman With Son’s Hurling Stick

A 32-year-old father from West Belfast has been identified as the hero who used his son’s hurling stick to fight off the knifeman who stabbed and attempted to behead a man on Monday.

Maitiu Mág Tighearnán (also known as Matt McKiernan) was driving by with a friend named Andre when they witnessed the attack.

Andre, who is trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, approached the situation first and noticed the assailant was using a serrated kitchen knife. He immediately shouted a warning.

Mág Tighearnán ran to the trunk of his car and grabbed a wooden hurling stick belonging to his son, who had been at sports practice earlier that evening.

Mág clobbered the attacker over the head several times with the flat side of the stick, forcing him to drop the knife. This allowed other bystanders to kick the weapon away and help pin the assailant until the police arrived.

It also meant the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, survived, though he remains in hospital in serious condition.

Mág told the Daily Mail: ‘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.

‘Andre was a few seconds behind and he came running in and tried to subdue the attacker with an ankle-hold so he could free the victim.

‘I hit this guy again, hard, but it didn’t seem to phase him. He did stumble back, though and dropped the knife. I think another man who’d been watching came in and kicked the knife away.

‘We were trying to roll the attacker onto his stomach to subdue him but he was struggling. The police then arrived and four officers took over before armed tactical support turned up.

‘The victim was still conscious. But he was weak with all the blood loss. When he was taken away, he looked to have a horrible injury to his eye. The knifeman was led away by six officers but they were still struggling with him.’

He added: ‘I’m glad we intervened when we did. It was pure chance that we’d gone that route to the petrol station.

‘People have called us heroes but to be honest I’d like to think most people would’ve got stuck in and helped if they could. I just hope the victim pulls through and manages to recover as best he can.’

A GoFundMe has now been set up to buy Mág a pint, and has already raised over £17,300. That’s a lot of pints!

Big up Mág and everyone else who helped out. Speedy recovery to Stephen Ogilvie and let’s hope that the attacker is dealt with promptly, as are the conditions that allowed him to move into Belfast so easily in the first place.

For more details on the victim, click HERE.