Mother wiped dog faeces on child’s face

A mother rubbed dog faeces on the face of her young daughter and pushed her down a staircase during a five-year period of neglect.

The abuse by the 37-year-old mother of seven began when the child was aged five.

Garda Donna Egan, who outlined the neglect in the child cruelty case, told Ennis District Court the case was “heartbreaking”.