Woman who was hit by firework as she sat at bus stop may lose eyesight

A YOUNG woman may lose her eyesight after she was hit with a firework that was launched at her face.

She was sitting at a bus stop in Eyre Square in Galway city shortly after midnight on Thursday when an individual ignited a firework in her direction.

She was struck in the face as a result and sustained serious ‘life-changing’ injuries to her eyes. A source informed the Mail that she has lost the sight in at least one eye and it’s feared she may lose her vision entirely.

The young woman underwent emergency surgery yesterday at University Hospital Galway in a bid to prevent her from going blind.

It’s understood there was a large group of people in Eyre Square at the time of the incident, and gardaí are asking anyone who witnessed it to make contact with them. The investigating team are also looking for anyone who may have video footage of the incident, either on mobile phone, CCTV or dash-cam to make contact with them.

Local councillor Eddie Hoare told the Mail that many people have ‘grave concerns’ about anti-social activity at Eyre Square. ‘There was a Joint Policing Committee meeting on Monday where it was discussed how these unsavoury gatherings have become an issue throughout the pandemic, but in recent weeks it has escalated,’ he said.

‘At the meeting, the Chief Superintendent

[Tom Curley] didn’t rule out closing Eyre Square at night-time just to curtail these large groups. He is aware of our concerns and while he can’t deploy all his officers to the locality, measures must be taken to ensure that areas like these are made safer.’

Galway councillor Martina O’Connor said she was ‘shocked and saddened’ upon learning about the incident. ‘It’s very unfortunate that this young woman sustained such serious injuries as she was just sitting at a bus stop,’ she said.

‘I hope it was just a random accident with no bad intent, but the reality is that fireworks are not reliable and can cause a lot of damage.

‘This is why they’re not legal in Ireland and for good reason, too. In the run up to Halloween you get people lighting them up, but it hasn’t been that bad over the past few nights in Galway.’

Since January, gardaí have issued around 500 fines for breaches of Galway city’s alcohol bylaws which prohibited the consumption of alcohol in a public place. Anyone with video footage of the firework incident, either from a mobile phone, CCTV or dash-cam, is asked to contact investigating gardaí on 091 538000, 091 538036 or on the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

‘Shocked and saddened’