Little girl injured in Parnell Square attack 'on the home stretch for home', family shares

The young girl who was seriously injured in an incident on Parnell Square last year is "on the home stretch for home", according to an update from her family.

This latest update, shared this Friday on the official GoFundMe page set up for the child and her family in the weeks after the horrifying attack, comes the day before the first anniversary of the incident, November 23.

"I guess calling it an incident is as good a word as any. Others come to mind, but we don't wish to remember the tragedy. We choose rebirth, triumph, resilience," the now six-year-old's mother shared in the update.

"We are on the home stretch for home. We get to make our schedule and allow our pace to dictate activities. 2025 will be a brand new experience, another one we will also have to adapt to."

The young girl was discharged from Temple Street Children's Hospital in early September this year, where she had been receiving treatment for over 280 days.

"Me and my husband have had to relearn how to be a parent," her mother continued.

"It is different parenting altogether. And she has had to relearn being a child, with extreme limitations. She cannot move or communicate as she used to, so she has to understand the meaning of patience."

"She has made great progress, and we don't wish her to stop. Only time will truly tell. Some people with acquired brain injuries have still shown change and improvement up to 10 years later. We've got time."

Almost €120,000 has been raised so far for the little girl and her family through the GoFundMe page, which was set up in the days after the Parnell Square attack.

The then-five-year-old was one of three children who, along with their carer, were injured in the multiple stabbing at Coláiste Mhuire, Parnell Square in November 2023.

A man in his 50s, Riad Bouchaker, has been charged in relation to the attack.

The two other children, aged five and six, and Leanne Flynn, their carer, were all released from hospital shortly after the incident.