Girl, 6, gets €40k after being ‘savagely attacked’ by dog

A six-year-old schoolgirl, who will be scarred for life after being “savagely attacked by a neighbour’s dog,” was yesterday awarded €40,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.

Barrister Barney Quirke said that, in October 2013, Emily Counihan was close to her home at Mountain View, Crinken Glen, Shankill, Co Dublin, when a dog owned by neighbour Margaret Quinlan attacked her.

He told Circuit Court president Mr Justice Raymond Groarke the dog, a mongrel named Sophie, had bitten Emily in the face, lacerating her upper lip area. She had been taken to hospital, where the cut had been stitched.