Dublin man jailed for city centre stomach stabbing

By Isabel Hayes

A young man who stabbed another in a targeted, daytime city centre attack, leaving the victim with his intestines protruding from his stomach, has been jailed for nearly six years.

Preston Fagan (22) armed himself with a six-inch kitchen knife before he and an accomplice – also armed – chased their victim on e-scooters and set upon him in front of shocked witnesses.

Fagan was identified after his accomplice stabbed him by accident during the attack, causing him to seek medical help.

Fagan, of Sean McDermott Street Upper, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to one count of causing serious harm to the other man at Frederick Lane North in Dublin 1 on May 14, 2025. The accomplice has not been identified.

Detective Garda Ciaran Cummins told Simon Donagh BL, prosecuting, that the assault happened around 2.30pm in the afternoon when the victim was cycling his bike in the area.

Fagan and his accomplice arrived on scooters and Fagan proceeded to stab the victim to the stomach. As he tried to run away, Fagan’s accomplice followed him and stabbed him in the arm and the buttocks before both perpetrators fled the scene.

Shocked witnesses flagged down a passing ambulance, where paramedics saw that the victim’s intestines were protruding, the court heard. He was taken to the Mater Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and was placed in intensive care.

He lost a kidney as a result of the assault, medical reported handed in to court showed. He declined to give a victim impact statement and did not co-operate with the garda investigation. The reason behind the attack remains unknown, the court heard.

During the melee, Fagan’s accomplice managed to stab him too, leading to him also ending up in the Mater Hospital. He was identified by gardaí as a result of this and from CCTV footage of the incident.

Two six-inch knives were found in the electric box at Fagan’s home when gardaí searched it. He has been in custody since his arrest in May last year.

Diana Stuart SC, defending, said Fagan’s mother died in a car accident when he was aged 14, which had a profound effect on him. He moved to his current address as a result of this and started associating with “unsavoury” people, she said. All of the identified people involved in the assault were well known to gardaí, she added.

Fagan has one previous conviction for drug possession but is now clean from drugs. He got a good Leaving Cert and hoped to join the defence forces, the court heard. He is apologetic for his actions, defence counsel said.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) placed the offending in the 10-15 year sentence category. Sentencing Fagan, Judge Martin Nolan said he agreed with this assessment, given the seriousness of the assault.

He set a headline sentence of 11 years, which he reduced to five years and nine months taking mitigating factors into account including Fagan’s youth, guilty plea and lack of previous relevant offending.