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GARDAÍ ARE INVESTIGATING an incident which saw a newborn baby allegedly left alone in the back seat of an unlocked car on a hot afternoon earlier this week.
The incident is alleged to have happened in the car park of the Market Green Shopping Centre in Midleton, Co Cork, on Tuesday.
A woman, Shauna Hennessy, who noticed the infant in the car, has spoken of the incident on RTÉ Liveline.
“There were two parents, a five or six-year-old boy who got out of the car, and they left a baby, about two weeks old behind in the car,” she said.
According to Hennessy the temperature at the time inside the car was 24 degrees Celsius per the dashboard readout. She said the family was gone for just under 20 minutes and couldn’t see the car from where they had gone to.
“The four windows were down a small bit. I was able to put my hand in and open the actual door,” Shauna said.
I mean it would have been very easy to rob the child if you wanted to.
I was in my mother’s car when the other car pulled in next to us. The father was driving, with the mum and the six-year-old in the back seat and the car seat in the middle.
Shauna said that the baby girl was wide awake and appeared to be “a happy baby”. “But still it’s wrong to leave any child in a car like that,” she said.
I could feel the heat burst out when I opened the door. The baby was in direct sunlight. There was a shade on the car but it was on the wrong side.
‘Relax, relax’
Hennessy said she rang the gardaí at least twice. The first time she was told that a car would be up to her in two minutes. She informed them of the make and registration of the car and of the circumstances.
The second time, after the family in question had re-emerged to find a crowd gathered around their car, she was informed that “there were no cars available, just let them go, there’s nothing that can be done now”.
Prior to this Hennessy had taken a video of the baby in the car “so that no-one could contradict that it had happened”. She subsequently posted the video to Facebook but has since removed it on request from the gardaí.
“When the family came back, other people were saying to them that ‘this is cruel’. The father just replied ‘relax, relax, relax, it’s ok’,” she said.
When we told him the gardaí had been called he just said ‘good, good’ and walked away.
A spokesperson confirmed that gardaí are aware of an incident having taken place in Midleton and are investigating.
It’s understood that that investigation is proceeding in conjunction with the child agency Tusla.
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A fiver says nothing will happen the parents……….
Leaving a child or baby alone in a car is careless. And in this heat its dangerous. In a matter of minutes anything can happen. I do think the young woman was correct to call the Gardai. However i think it was VERY wrong to post the video online. Trial by Facebook. Let the Gardai handle the parents. Not a bunch of keyboard warriors. These videos can go viral very quickly.
Agreed, posting it online was self-serving. Ring the cops and give it to them directly. That’s what they are for.
Yes but the gardai are very slow to respond to some cases if dangerous is not very imminent. This can encourage the kick up the backside they need to get ensure they respond to such calls. More importantly it may make other parents think twice about doing such stupid things.
She did ring the gardai. They never arrived
Heard this on liveliness…and another woman phoned in who blamed the girl who reported it for causing a big fuss…she was quickly torn to shreds by another lad though!!! For course that couple were wrong to leave the baby in the car….no real issue with them leaving the baby in the car for 20 seconds if the car was in their view but clearly this was not the case and il glad this got publicity to warn (but hopefully it should be known anyway) not keep a baby in a hot car for too long, let alone leave it unattended in a car park with the car open.
So they can do nothing with it. If it goes viral the gardai are forced to take some action is
????? Do you speak English or am I too old to understand gibberish??
I believe she was trying to say “they probably got the idea from Madeline McCann’s parents. Laugh out loud.” Hilarious.
If Ms Hennesy saw the parents leave the car with the newborn baby locked inside, then the easiest thing to do would have been for her to talk directly to the baby’s parents. I don’t know why she felt the need to ring the guards first? Then she went and posted the video all over facebook and now she’s on the radio.
Something doesn’t add up.
For the record the parents shouldn’t have left the child unattended in the car. But this could have all been easily resolved with a few words in the parents ear.
Undiegrundie, she rang them twice and they did nothing.
The Garda station in Midleton is no more than a 4 minute walk to market green where that car was, it would take longer to drive, so that really is no excuse from guards
A two week old baby !!! you wouldn’t be letting it out of your sight.
Blue SK you have obviously never tried to reason with parents. On two occasions I have toddlers walk out in front of my car while the parent or guardian were busy texting. When I asked them to out their phones away I got very unladylike replies.
Fair point Jho, the same has happened to me on occasion. I would still have a word with the parents first. Depending on the response I might contact the Gardai (or whoever). I also have examples where i did have a word with someone and they were perfectly reasonable.
Our emergency services are over streched and under resourced. We can all do our bit by not engaging them unless we need to. My friend is a paramedic, the stories she’ll tell you about having to bring someone to hospital in an ambulance when they were prefectly able to transport themselves is shocking. People have died and will continue to die because our emergency services has been mis-directed.
Absolute idiots. I’d be uncomfortable leaving a newborn baby in a car for a minute and a half while I nipped into the garage to pay for petrol. But to leave one for 20 minutes in an unlocked car in above 20 degree heat is serious neglect plain and simple.
One of my biggest fears about leaving any of my children in a car was fire….i never trust a car not to burn….
The guards in Midleton have made themselves look like total incompetent imbeciles in this case
How have they??
Peter ? The girl called the gardai twice and they never sent out a car . Do you not think that the Gardai would be in trouble if the child had suffocated in that heat and the Gardai knew and did nothing ?
You take all what she is saying is true so? Two sides to every story.
Peter, at the end of the day the parents did leave the baby alone in the car and the gardai were xalkwf and they never arrived . What could possibly be the other side to the story ?
You wouldn’t leave a dog in the car in that heat… The hell were they thinking?
two adults and they both decide to leave the newborn alone? One couldn’t have stayed behind? No-one wants to wake a newborn, least of all stressed parents, but that’s just beyond any excuse.
Even leaving a kid that age alone in cool weather… Any sort of lunatic could have come along.. Car could have been nicked… anything could have happened…
Hi paddy, how many of the cars you have owned have spontaneously combusted? As a matter of intrest?
It depends if it has has a combustable engine
Yesterday 23C a car will heat up to 120F within 1 hour and 2/3rds of the heat in the first 20 minutes, children’s bodies also heat up 3 to 5 times faster than adults.
Why did you switch from Celsius to Fahrenheit?
Makes it sound hotter.
120F = 48C, still pretty darn hot
Working in a hospital years ago we found a toddler locked in a hot car in the car park. We broke the window and rescued the toddler who was covered in blisters from the heat. Parents were ‘only gone a few minutes’. She did the right thing.
She was correct to do what she did well done. New born baby all u want to do is cuddle and mind dem gotta question this
When my son was smaller, I wouldn’t even get diesel when I was alone in the car because it meant leaving him alone in the car for a couple of minutes. Even now at 2 and a half, I have just started doing it but will only go in if it’s not busy and I can see him from the garage. Can’t imagine leaving a child like that for nearly 20 mins, unlocked and in that heat!
The woman who made the complaint is clearly an attention seeker and her actions were based on this fact rather than any concern for the child. People are going overboard with child safety these days. I’m glad I’m not a kid in this day and age.
yes, she’s a bit of an attention seeker as evidenced by her posting the evidence online, and by talking to Joe. Neither were necessary and may be more a hindrance than a help to any potential prosecutions.
But if you think leaving a 2 week old in a car alone and in this or any kind of heat, or indeed alone for 20 minutes in a car regardless of weather, is “going overboard” then you are an unfit parent. Simple as that.
+1 undiegrundy definitely seems attention seeking but the parents were absolutely wrong
Flip off.. Taking your baby to the shop instead of leaving him alone in a hot car isnt going overboard with child safety. Its common sense. The woman was on Liveline and she reckoned she wanted to “highlight” the issue of leaving kids in cars by posting the video to Facebook. What worries me is that this generation thinks its “normal” to record footage of private citizens and humiliate them by posting it online for everyone to comment and judge. She had no right to do that.
Moral of the story- Don’t call the Gardai, call Liveline.
Shame to see people jumping to conclusions with the story this one is spouting all over the radio. Her story is very much over-exaggerated and full of half truths. I agree a child should never be left on their own in a car at any stage. Let the Gardai and Tulsa deal with it. Besides condemning the parents on one persons account of how she perceived things.
Peter Casey , what part is over exaggerated and what is the truth then ?
I have spoken to someone who was there. There is no question that the child was left in car. The length of time the parents left child in car is now where near 20 mins. Plus I am led to believe her interactions with Gardai is not as she described.
Plus she decided it was more important to film it before she ever contacted Gardai.
Peter , she’s an attention seeker , but you still haven’t given the other side to the story ..
Typical Cork tbh.
U r a brave man Wayne. Don’t think all Rebels will see the humour of your comment
sure the Garda comment ah sure gone now what can we hello ur job review cctv footage take a few statements
I bet you’re day is made now. All popular for your wit. Go you!
This woman is simply a busy body
@ Jon Mackey: no, l was devastated by the red thumbs l got for a pretty clever limerick about the guy with the reattached penis.
The child should be taken off her !
Ireland full of nosey snitches obsessed with what other people of doing & thinking they know best when none of them are perfect themselves. Who needs the Stasi.
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Missed that one – which article?
Darn – that was a reply to a comment that’s been removed m. Ho hum
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