Irish Daily Mail

Gardaí wait to interview mum of stabbed girl fighting for life

- By Seán O’Driscoll

GARDAÍ are waiting to interview the mother of an eight-year-old Ukrainian girl who was stabbed dozens of times in a refugee centre and is fighting for her life.

The girl, who only recently started primary school, was found lying on the floor of a bedroom in Sunset Lodge, Clarecastl­e, Co. Clare, a former B&B that had recently been refitted to accommodat­e Ukrainian refugees.

The girl’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found lying on the floor near her.

A person familiar with the area said that some Ukrainians had come to Ireland ‘with tremendous emotional baggage’ and that gardaí are keeping an open mind about what happened.

‘I don’t know them and most people here don’t know them. We welcome them to Ireland but they came with a group who arrived in Clarecastl­e only in recent weeks, so there hasn’t been enough time to get to know them yet,’ he said.

The girl was transferre­d from University Hospital Limerick (UHL) to Crumlin Children’s Hospital, Dublin, where she is in an extremely serious condition.

They were discovered before 8am on Tuesday after Ukrainian residents of the lodge heard screams from their room.

Gardaí are keen to interview the 46year-old mother and hope she can help explain what happened.

Gardaí are also waiting for a toxicology report being carried out on the woman, who is being treated at UHL.

The other refugees in the lodge were transferre­d to accommodat­ion in nearby Ennis, while gardaí continued their investigat­ions.

The seven-bedroom Sunset Lodge was unoccupied for several years and was sold in 2019 for €115,000.

Gardaí are using an interprete­r to speak to each of the occupants to find out what happened, and they are also making door-to-door enquiries. An incident room has been establishe­d at Ennis Garda Station.

A Family Liaison Officer has been appointed to the family and Clare Civil Defence personnel and an interprete­r were also called to assist gardaí.

The guesthouse was examined by members of the Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit on Tuesday.

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