The man hailed a hero after intervening in the Belfast attack has broken his silence.
Maitiu Mág Tighearnán was identified as one of the members of the public who stepped in to help victim Stephen Ogilvie during the alleged knife attack in north Belfast on June 8.
He and his friend Andre were on their way to a petrol station when they came across the disturbing scene by “pure chance”, quickly pulling over to help Mr Ogilvie.
They tackled the attacker and hit him with a stick used in the sport of hurley.
Videos quickly went viral online of the intervention.
Mr Tighearnán appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday to share his side of the story.
“At the end of the day, there’s a man lying there. I just heard he’s being stabbed. There was blood everywhere, so the first thing is ‘that man needs help’,” the 32-year-old said.
“It’s a natural reaction for what I feel is me, and most people who I know would also do the same from where we grew up. It was just that type of mentality.”
Hadi Alodid has since been charged with the attempted murder of Mr Ogilvie.
Mr Tighearnán condemned the violent anti-immigration protests which have plagued Northern Ireland since the attack.
“Everybody is entitled to their right of opinion and their right to protest... but when it turns violent, then you lose sight of the protest and what it stands for,” he said.
“From what I sort of understood from speaking to the shop owners, they’ve been here 30 years. Their kids went to school here and still do, even their grandkids were born here.
“So what happened was, amongst everything that’s happening, someone has seen someone of colour and that’s led to that.
“We have people in our society who contribute towards our economy, who contribute to our country. Attacking those people makes no sense, and then that is where the bad of the protests comes from.”
A fundraiser was launched earlier this week by Niall Donnan, who joined him on Good Morning Britain, to “buy him a pint”.
The GoFundMe has raised more than $AU60,000, with the page stating: “Maitie Mag Toghearnan has revealed himself as the man who confronted the attacker in Belfast last night.
“Faced with unimaginable violence, he chose courage over fear and grabbed a hurley stick to defend his fellow Irish man.
“I have set up this GoFundMe so the people of our land can show our support to Matt for his incredible bravery and courage.
“100% of donations will be sent to Matt directly. Let’s buy him a pint!”
Mr Tighearnán said he found the fundraiser overwhelming.
“I’m overwhelmed. But, again, this is all new to me. So, for me, I’m someone who tries to keep a low profile. I don’t like too much attention on myself,” he said.
At Mr Tighearnán’s request, £10,000 has been donated to the Support Victim Of Knife Attack - Stephen Ogilvie fundraiser to support Mr Ogilvie and his recovery.
Mr Tighearnán said he soon hoped to speak with Mr Ogilvie, who suffered serious injuries to his eyes, neck, and back in the attack.
“I would love to see him, see how he is recovering,” he said.
“I did speak to one of his family members briefly. They reached out, just obviously thanking us for what had happened, but we haven’t been able to speak to him directly.”
“Me (and my friend) both said if it was any of our family, we would hope someone would do the same. So it’s not that there’s anything to be thankful for. We’re just glad that we were able to intervene when we could.”
It is understood 50 per cent of money raised in the fundraiser will be shared with Andre, the friend who helped stop the attack.
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