A 17-year-old youth has been sentenced to eight years in detention for the attempted murder of an Irish army chaplain last year.
Fr Paul Murphy was stabbed seven times with a hunting knife while attempting to drive into Renmore Barracks in Galway at around 10.35pm on August 15.
The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, pleaded guilty to attempted murder earlier this year at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
On Tuesday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott sentenced the teenager to 10 years in detention with the final two suspended on condition he engage with deradicalisation and educational programmes.
He said the teenager was intelligent, with no previous convictions, who had “an obsessive personality” and was “drawn into a world” of “extremist views” online.
He warned that young people can become “easy prey” for extreme content online, which had been seen in other court cases.
The boy pleaded guilty to attempted murder earlier this year at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
Giving his impact statement in April, Fr Paul Murphy said he forgave his attacker before hugging him.
Fr Murphy was stabbed seven times with a hunting knife at Renmore Barracks in Galway on August 15.
The priest was assaulted by the teenage boy, then aged 16 but now aged 17, while he was attempting to drive into the barracks at around 10.35pm.
He was arrested at the scene after being restrained by members of the Defence Forces.
Fr Murphy, a native of Waterford who lived at the barracks, has been an army chaplain since 2013 and has completed five overseas placements with the Defence Forces in Syria and Lebanon.