'God help us': Limerick assault victim Scarlett Faulkner taken off life support

Family says woman remains alive after life support withdrawn following serious assault that left her critically injured

Scarlett Faulkner, 29, was assaulted on March 21 at the side of the R494 road in Birdhill, Co Tipperary.

Life support for Scarlett Faulkner, the young Limerick mother critically injured in an assault last month, has been turned off.

According to her family, Ms Faulkner was taken off her life support machine at Cork University Hospital on Sunday afternoon.

In an update shared online, Josephine (Joanne) Duffy, the partner of Scarlett’s brother Thomas, said the machine was turned off at 4pm on Sunday.

“Five of us were left stay here in the hospital, so we stayed here overnight. Her heart is still going, God help us,” said Ms Duffy.

She added: “They say it could take days, it could take hours. They don’t know, they can’t tell when she will stop breathing for herself.

“As for now she is holding up well on her own.” 

Ms Duffy asked the public to continue praying, while clarifying that “some people are saying she has passed but she didn’t”.

Ms Faulkner, 29, was assaulted on March 21 at the side of the R494 road in Birdhill, Co Tipperary.

A woman aged in her 40s and a teenage girl have been charged in connection with the assault.

Ms Faulkner suffered critical head injuries in the attack. She is the mother of a six-year-old daughter.

Video footage of the attack was widely shared on social media, and An Garda Síochána has continued to appeal to people not to share it.

The family also appealed to the public not to post any pictures or footage after an image of Ms Faulkner in hospital circulated online.

They said these were “distressing for the family to see”.