![\"Riad](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1_Screenshot-2026-07-01-at-162517.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSources also tell us the Algerian native who is now an Irish citizen is under armed guard<\/p>\n
20:46, 16 Oct 2026Updated 21:01, 16 Oct 2026<\/p>\n
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Riad Bouchaker pictured on the day of the Parnell Square attack in November 2023. <\/p>\n
Parnell Square attacker Riad Bouchaker is in intensive care in a Dublin hospital tonight – after falling ill in prison.<\/p>\n
The Irish Mirror has learned that Bouchaker, who tried to murder three children in a horror attack in central Dublin, was rushed to hospital earlier on Friday.<\/p>\n
Sources say the 52 year old collapsed in Cloverhill remand prison in west Dublin this afternoon.<\/p>\n
He was then taken to a hospital in the Dublin region – where he is now in intensive care.<\/p>\n
Sources also tell us the Algerian native who is now an Irish citizen is under armed guard.<\/p>\n
Although he is in intensive care and is critically ill, sources say they do not believe his life is in imminent danger.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is in a bad way, but we don\u2019t think at this stage he will die,\u201d a source said.<\/p>\n
Bouchaker, who will be sentenced next month for the November 23, 2023 attack, has brain injuries and suffers regular seizures on the D2 landing of Cloverhill, where he is now locked up.<\/p>\n
We contacted the Irish Prisons Service tonight.<\/p>\n
![\"Cloverhill](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/0_Cloverhill-Prison-003.jpg\")
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Cloverhill Prison(Image: Collins)<\/p>\n
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Court artist sketch by Carol Bisso Mu\u00f1ante of Riad Bouchaker, of no fixed address, appearing in the dock at the Criminal Courts Of Justice in Dublin, during his sentence hearing for attempted murder of three children in Parnell Square in Dublin an attack that triggered the Dublin race riots of 2023. (Image: Carol Bisso Mu\u00f1ante\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
A spokesman declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Bouchaker\u2019s collapse came just days after he made another court appearance.<\/p>\n
His sentencing hearing at the Central Criminal Court on Monday heard his lawyers argue that a life sentence would not be appropriate for him because of his intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n
But the mother of a child who suffered a gash in her head after being stabbed in the attack three years ago described Bouchaker as “the monster” who haunts her daughter’s nightmares.<\/p>\n
Parents of some of the children injured during the attack delivered victim impact statements outlining the ongoing psychological struggles they endure.<\/p>\n
The mother of a girl who suffered severe brain injury due to blood loss after Bouchaker stabbed her in the heart, wrote that her daughter will need care for the rest of her life.<\/p>\n
She said her daughter went from being a five-year-old who could dress herself, run, jump, climb, play, eat and make decisions to being unable to talk, walk or swallow more than a tiny piece of food. She takes medication four times a day and suffers muscle spasms and chronic pain and needs a tablet to sleep. She said she and her husband worry about who will look after their daughter when they are gone.<\/p>\n
The mother of the girl who suffered the scalp wound said she watched CCTV footage of the attack and saw the children smiling, laughing and joking moments before Bouchaker launched his attack. She told the court: “Their innocence is magical to look at. This monster stole that innocence from them. That is what he is, the monster that haunts her nightmares.”<\/p>\n
Leanne Flynn, a creche worker who suffered a stab wound in her back when she tried to pull Bouchaker away from the children, said she hates being called a hero. She said she should not have had to do what she did and, turning to look at Bouchaker, she said: “I hope whatever god you believe in doesn’t forgive you, because harming innocent children is simply unforgivable.”<\/p>\n
Bouchaker (52), of no fixed address, had denied the attempted murder of two girls and one boy, and assault causing serious harm to Ms Flynn, at Parnell Square East in Dublin City on November 23, 2023.<\/p>\n
He also denied assaulting two other children and then-teenager Alan Loren-Guille and producing a knife in a manner likely to intimidate. A jury convicted him of all charges following a three-week trial that ended in July of this year.<\/p>\n
Having heard evidence and pleas in mitigation on Monday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt adjourned sentencing until November 16.<\/p>\n