Gardaí are expected to extend their detention of a well known Republican suspected of stabbing a woman on Christmas Eve.
The man was arrested following a knife attack in a house in Co Cavan in which a woman in her 40s sustained stab wounds.
She is a former elected official and while now seriously ill in hospital her injuries are not believed to be life threatening.The suspect and the victim are known to each other. Gardaí say yesterday’s attack is being treated as a domestic incident.
Both the suspect and the injured woman have young children, though it was unclear if they were present when the stabbing occurred. The man being held was convicted of a serious offence in the Republic in which a man lost his life.
He was also at the centre of another terror related incident in another jurisdiction in the 1990s.The emergency services were called to a house in Kilnaleck,Cavan, yesterday afternoon.
On arrival they found the injured woman.
She was treated by paramedics at the property, which isher family home.
She was then taken to Cavan General Hospital, where she continues to undergo treatment.
The suspect was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and was taken to Cavan garda station, where he spent last night in the cells. Gardaí were continuing to question him today and allowingfor an extension of his detention he can be held for up to 24 hours without charge.
As his questioning was suspended overnight to allow him to sleep, he can be held until near midnight tonight. He must then be charged with an offence or releasedwithout charge. If charged, he would appear before a special courting sittingtomorrow.
The house where the attack took place was sealed off immediately gardaí arrived on the scene and remained a crime scene overnight.It was expected to undergo an examination by members ofthe Garda Technical Bureau today.
Gardaí investigating the attack were hoping to speak to the victim as early as today, though Garda sources said medical staff must approve that development. The investigation is being conducted by gardaí from Cavan station.
