Gardaí want to question number of men and women over Tipperary assault on Limerick mother

Scarlet Faulkner, from Limerick City, suffered critical head injuries when she was attacked at a roadside outside Birdhill village, at around 5.30pm.

The scene of the incident in Birdhill and ,inset, Scarlet Faulkner.

Gardaí are looking to question a number of men and women in connection with a savage attack on a young mother, in Co Tipperary, last Saturday.

Scarlet Faulkner, 20s, from Limerick City, suffered critical head injuries when she was attacked at a roadside outside Birdhill village, at around 5.30pm.

She remains gravely ill at Cork University Hospital where she was taken after being initially airlifted from the scene by a Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter to University Hospital Limerick.

Video footage shared across social media of the attack appears to show a male brandishing a hatchet next to a woman, not Ms Faulkner, as two males approach them, one armed with a bladed implement. 

The mobile phone footage, recorded from inside a passing vehicle, then shows another female using a mobile phone to record another person repeatedly striking another person on the ground, believed to be Ms Faulkner, with a long implement.

A male voice is heard on the video footage saying, “Oh my god there is someone on the road”, as the vehicle approaches the women at the side of the road.

A woman’s voice on the video footage is then heard: “Oh my god, she’s hitting her head.” 

The attack has been roundly condemned. Limerick Fianna Fáil TD, Niall Collins, said: “It's truly concerning and people are asking the question, what happened here.”

"How could such a brutal incident happen on a public road in the middle of the day," he told RTÉ News.

Mr Collins called the incident "truly shocking" and appealed "to anybody who has information to please contact the gardaí".

Members of Ms Faulkner’s family asked on social media posts for people to pray for her survival and recovery.

Gardaí said they “continue to investigate” the “serious assault” on Ms Faulkner.

The Garda investigation team is specifically interested in hearing from people with information on or who may have seen two vehicles gardaí believe were used by those involved in the assault.

“In particular, Gardaí are seeking information on the movements of two vehicles, a grey 162 Ford Transit van and a blue 161 Volkswagen Touran people carrier, travelling in convoy or driving dangerously between 4.30pm and 5.30pm on Saturday March 21 in and around Birdhill village, the townlands of Cooleen, Crag Cross, Shower Cross, Kylebeg, Annaholty and Thornhill, all in Co. Tipperary,” said a garda spokesperson.

Gardaí were also anxious to receive video footage, dash-cam or mobile phone or otherwise, from any old users who were traveling in the vicinity of the assault last Saturday.

“Gardaí are aware of video footage of the incident circulating online and ask members of the public not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead to provide it to investigating Gardaí,” gardaí added.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station on (067) 50450, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.