Woman (23) who died after dog attack at her home in County Limerick is named locally – The Irish Times

A woman has died after a dog attack in County Limerick.

The woman, known locally as 23-year-old Nicole O’Donnell Morey, died near her home in Ballyneety in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Mrs Morey, originally from Limerick City, died after being attacked by at least one dog.

Just before midnight on Tuesday, armed police arrived at the house and encountered several aggressive dogs, killing one and detaining three others. It was suspected that one or all of the dogs were on a list of banned breeding dogs that require them to be muzzled.

Locals say Ms Morley was attacked by at least one of her own dogs, an XL bully, the larger version of an American pit bull.

Despite the best efforts of the paramedics who treated her there, Mrs Morey died at the scene. Her body was taken to Limerick University Hospital where a post-mortem examination was to be carried out.

Her sister Jolene posted on Facebook: “On your birthday my heart is broken again. I only hung up for 2 seconds before I really tried my best to help you. I am so sorry Nicole, I love you so much, this feels like a bad dream.”

Family friend Father Richard Davern led a prayer in memory of the deceased at St. Mary’s Church, Athlunkard, Limerick.

The parish priest said the family were well known in community and sporting circles and Mrs Morey’s great-uncle, Anthony O’Donnell, was awarded the title of Community Volunteer of the Year at the All-Ireland Community and Council Awards last March.

“There are no words to describe the absolute horror. God bless them,” said Father Davern.

“Everyone is just shocked, it’s horrific, absolutely horrific,” he said. “I spoke to one of her former teachers this morning and they said (Nicole) had a lovely character.”

“They said she had ambitions to go back to college and get training as an SNA (Special Needs Assistant) and to go into education. So she had ambitions, poor girl. God bless her and God bless all the first responders and rescue workers who have had to deal with this and deal with the aftermath.”

Gardaí from the Garda Crime Scene Unit combed the areas outside and inside the house on Wednesday.

The local police had sealed off an entrance gate to the house as well as access to an alley running along the property.

The two-storey house is located on a country road between the villages of Ballyneety and Fedamore, about 18 km from Limerick city.

Locals in the rural hinterland also expressed their “shock”.

Gardaí issued a media alert urging members of the public not to share any video related to the fatal incident online.

“An Garda Síochána is aware of the footage of this incident in circulation and, out of respect for the deceased, asks the public and the media not to distribute these videos,” the Garda press office said in a statement.

Family and friends said they were planning an event in Limerick on Thursday evening where purple and yellow balloons would be released in memory of Ms Morey.

Several hours before the fatal dog attack on Ms Morey, Gardaí had warned local media in Limerick about dog attacks, pointing out that a nine-year-old boy had suffered “facial injuries” in a dog attack in Limerick City on 29 May.

In this alert to the media, Sergeant Ber Leetch, Crime Prevention Officer at Henry Street Garda Station, warned people: “Protect your dog, but also protect all the people he may come into contact with.”

“You need to know your dog and whether they are on the restricted breed list. If you are unsure, check the dogs.ie website,” said Sergeant Leetch.

“There are rules that must be followed. Certain breeds of dogs must be muzzled in public, kept on a short leash, wear a collar with the owner’s information and the person controlling the dog must be over 16 years old.”

“These rules are there to protect everyone, including the dog.”

“A dog bit a nine-year-old boy in the city center last Wednesday, May 29, at 8:30 p.m. The boy had to be taken to hospital with facial injuries.”

“Nobody wants this to happen, so take responsibility for your dog,” she warned just hours before the fatal dog attack that killed Ms. Morey.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Roxboro Road Garda Station on (061) 214 340, the Garda Confidential Hotline on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.

Heather Humphreys, minister for rural and community development and responsible for dog legislation, said she was “absolutely appalled” by the news.

A government-appointed group chaired by retired Assistant Garda Commissioner John Twomey is examining the area of ​​increased dog control.

No breeds are banned in Ireland, but some breeds are restricted. These include the American Pit Bull Terrier, English Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa and Bandog.

Ms Humphreys said she had asked the group to review the list of restricted breeds in line with measures taken in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

“I am committed to working with colleagues across Government to take all necessary action to strengthen our dog control laws,” she said.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has stated that she believes certain breeds of dogs should be banned, particularly if a particular breed is known to be dangerous.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One programme, Ms McEntee acknowledged that some people believe there are different reasons why a dog might become vicious.

“But I think if there is a pattern, and particularly if you see a pattern in other countries with certain dogs, then we need to look at whether we need to go further here, but we also need to take into account some of the rules that are in place.”

She added: “We have to do everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This is really, really devastating.”

“This is just a really horrific and very disturbing incident. My thoughts are with the poor young woman’s family and her wider community. This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often. And I think it’s very disturbing for everyone involved.”

Independent Limerick councillor Frankie Daly said he had previously warned about dangerous dogs, particularly because some breeds have been banned in the UK and are now being brought to Ireland. “I call on the Government to ban these breeds,” he said.