Republican News · Thursday 10 January 2002

Newington stabbing: Reminiscent of Shankill Butchers

If there was a lull in loyalist attacks on nationalists living in the Limestone Road and Newington areas of North Belfast over the Christmas and New Year holidays, it was hard to notice.

In the week over the holiday period, up to five serious attacks were launched against nationalists living in the area, including gun and bomb attacks.

The UDA was responsible for these attempts to kill and it was only through sheer luck that no one was killed.

45-year-old Joe Murphy probably had the luckiest escape after being stabbed five times in the head in a frenzied knife attack that had echoes of the Shankill Butcher killings of the mid 1970s.

It was in the early hours of Wednesday, 2 January, when Murphy, who lives in Newington Street, heard banging at the door of a neighbour's house. As the street has been under constant attack from loyalist gangs, Murphy was alert to what was going on and with a number of other neighbours they went out to chase the loyalists away.

"There were four or five loyalists in the street and when they saw us they backed off down towards the Limestone Road," he said. "One of them was really defiant and kept egging us on and I went down to scare him off and it was then that he suddenly lunged at me and stabbed me in the head."

In the assault, Murphy was stabbed about five times in the head, as well as a wound to the shoulder and a hand wound.

Murphy was rushed to the Mater Hospital's A&E Department, where he had numerous staples inserted into his head wounds and seven stitches in the hand wound. He spent the next two days in hospital.

Describing the attack to An Phoblacht, Murphy said he believed his attacker was on drugs. "He was in a frenzy as he kept stabbing me and his face was contorted with rage and hatred.

"I don't remember what happened next or how the attack was actually stopped but when I came round I was in the house and I felt the blood running down my face and thinking, 'you can't bleed like this and live'. Also I had given a pint of blood on New Year's Eve and I kept thinking that wouldn't help me."

Some of Joe Murphy's children played about the house as we sat in his front room. "You know," he said, "my eight-year-old daughter Fiona wrote her letter to Santa just before Christmas and she warned him to watch himself coming into our street because of all the trouble. The attacks are having such a big effect on the children's lives and you have to be on your toes all the time checking them because you don't know when the loyalists will attack."