Dog attack leaves woman with life-changing injuries

A WOMAN who was critically injured in a dog attack in Carlow town in late December is now stable, though she is expected to face life-changing injuries, according to An Garda Síochána.

Supt Anthony Farrell, speaking to The Nationalist on Friday 2 January, said that the woman remains in a critical condition but that the immediate threat to her life has receded.

“She is now stable – stable is the keyword that we’re focusing on,” Supt Farrell said. “While still critical, the life-threatening element is receding. We’re hoping that she’ll make a recovery, but there will be life-changing injuries.” 

The attack, which occurred shortly before 2pm on Tuesday 30 December in the Ashfield estate, Blackbog Road, was described by Supt Farrell as being at the “extreme end” of severity for dog attacks on owners and as highly unusual.

“On the scale of dog attacks against owners, it would certainly be at the high end – at the very extreme end even,” he said.

While declining to go into graphic detail for reasons of sensitivity, Supt Farrell confirmed that the woman, who has been named locally as Eileen Kelly, was attacked around her arms and facial area. He said the incident was traumatic not only for the victim but also for the emergency services personnel who responded.

“It was traumatic for the team that responded to it. Attacks of that nature are highly unusual,” he said.

The dog involved, understood to be a pitbull terrier, was the woman’s family pet and lived in the house with her. Supt Farrell said the trigger for the attack is unknown.

“This poor woman was just going about her Christmas, the same as everybody else. We don’t know for certain what triggered the attack,” he said.

The attack happened in the woman’s garden and the response from An Garda Síochána and the ambulance service was swift. Supt Farrell said there were several witnesses to the incident due to the overlooked nature of gardens in the estate.

Emergency services were alerted just before 2pm, with gardaí, paramedics, the Carlow dog warden and a veterinarian from Oaklawns Veterinary Surgery attending the scene. The woman was taken by ambulance to Castledermot, where she was airlifted to the Mater Hospital in Dublin and underwent immediate surgery.

The dog was euthanised at the scene by a vet following the attack. Supt Farrell acknowledged the difficulty of that decision.

“It was difficult for everybody; it’s an animal, at the end of the day, and nobody wants this to happen,” he said. “But when an animal attacks like that, serious decisions have to be made. It’s with great reluctance we make those decisions, but we have to make sure people’s safety is the priority.” 

Supt Farrell said that gardaí continue to support the woman’s family as she remains in hospital. “Our thoughts are with her and her family,” he said.

The incident has again highlighted broader concerns around dog attacks in Ireland. Official figures show that 1,194 incidents of aggressive dog behaviour were reported to local authorities in 2024, resulting in 405 recorded injuries. Where the breed was known, almost half (48%) involved restricted breeds, with 21 incidents involving dogs identified as XL Bully type.

The most commonly-recorded breed in attack reports was the German Shepherd or Alsatian, accounting for 16% of total incidents where breed information was available.

Health data also shows the scale of the issue nationally, with almost 460 people hospitalised following dog bites in 2022, according to HSE figures reported by RTÉ.