A five-year-old girl who suffered life-threatening injuries in a stabbing attack on Parnell Square in Dublin last month has shown “incredible strength” but the future is still uncertain, her mother has said.
In an update shared late last week on the fundraising website GoFundMe, the child’s mother thanked those who have supported the family since the attack on November 23rd.
Three children and one adult suffered knife injuries when they were attacked by a lone assailant outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East as schoolchildren were leaving.
Two children, aged five and six, have since been released from hospital. A childcare worker who helped shield the children from the attacker remains in hospital in a serious condition, along with the five-year-old girl who suffered the most serious injuries.
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The suspect, a 49-year-old man, also remains in hospital where he is being treated for serious head injuries. Gardaí are awaiting medical clearance before interviewing him.
The girl is being treated in Temple Street Children’s Hospital for extremely serious injuries.
“Dear all, thank you so much for the incredible gesture and kindness you have shown our family during these troubled times,” her mother wrote on the page of a GoFundMe appeal set up to support the family.
“Your thoughts, prayers and generosity have and will go a long way.”
She said her daughter “has shown incredible strength and still here with us.
“We don’t know yet what lies ahead as it is still early, but she is resilient and limitations will not stop her. Thank you so much.”
The fundraiser, titled Barróg do Chailín Beag (A Hug for a Little Girl) has gathered almost €25,000 in support of the family since the attack. This has come from about 1,600 individual donors.
A GoFundMe spokeswoman confirmed the fundraiser has been verified as genuine.
Large sums have also been raised for bystanders who intervened to stop the attacker and for businesses which were damaged in the subsequent riots which engulfed the capital.
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