Pregnant woman fractures skull in street brawl

AN expectant mother was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured skull in a street brawl involving up to 30 young people.

A hurley, a metal pipe and other weapons were recovered by gardaí after the fracas, which broke out in the Kilkenny village of Gowran over the weekend.

The young woman, who is seven months pregnant, was released from Beaumont Hospital yesterday, gardaí say. There is no threat to the life of her unborn child.

“The matter is still under investigation and we have not yet made any arrests,” an investigating officer from Thomastown Garda station said yesterday.

A number of people, including young people from the nearby village of Callan, have been interviewed by gardaí following the incident.

The expectant mother was rushed unconscious to St Luke’s Hospital, approximately seven miles away in Kilkenny City.

She was later transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. The row began in the village of Gowran and was centred on the Parkmore Terrace area.

A number of minor scuffles had developed earlier in the night and culminated in the row in which the young woman was injured.

Four people including the expectant mother, were hospitalised following the incident.

Gardaí have appealed for assistance and information on (056) 24222