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GARDAÍ ARE INVESTIGATING a serious assault in Maynooth yesterday evening just before 8.30pm.
An 18-year-old student was discovered seriously injured on the footpath at the entrance of the Moyglare Abbey Estate outside the town, gardaí added.
The injured woman, a student at NUI Maynooth, received medical assistance at the scene before being taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.
The scene has been preserved for technical examination and no arrests have been made.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information, particularly those in the vicinity of Maynooth Village and Moyglare Abbey Estate between 7.30pm and 9.15pm last night, to call Leixlip garda station 01 6667800.
They can also contact the garda confidential line on 1800 666111 or any garda station.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, a spokeswoman from NUI Maynooth said:
The Maynooth University community is very disturbed to hear of the serious incident involving one of our students, which happened off campus on Sunday evening.
“Our immediate thoughts are with the student and her family, and we are making every support available to them at this time. The safety and wellbeing of all our students is of the utmost importance to us.
“The University is working closely with the Gardaí and offering advice and support services to all students concerned about this incident.”
Councillor Réada Cronin, who lives in the estate herself, said she is in a state of shock.
“I was collecting my daughter last night when I saw the guards there,” she told TheJournal.ie. ”I’m very shocked - I have an 18-year-old daughter myself.
“I am amazed, I really am amazed. It’s literally around the corner from where I live.”
She said that Sunday night sees the return of students to the town to attend the local university.
We don’t have incidents like that in Maynooth, we’re a very small town, but we absorb the students very well in the town.
“It’s very sad, very sad. It’s the main entrance road into the estate, my thoughts are with her family and with her friends, I’m sure they’re all very anxious about her.”
Councillor Naoise O Cearúil, who is on the board of trustees of the Students Union in Maynooth University and who also lives in the area, told TheJournal.ie: “Our thoughts are with the victim and her family.
” suppose the most shocking thing is that this happened in a family residential estate.
“We on Kildare County Council will do everything to work with the gardaí and unversity to ensure a resolution to this, and to ensure local community and student community feel safe.”
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It’s absolutely ludicrous that a college town with such a large population has no full-time Garda station.
@Dolbert:
I was not aware of that and indeed that is unbelievable.
In fairness I studied there for five years and never witnessed one fight! It’s a very safe place.
Also I think you’ll find whether that station was open or not would not have stopped this assault. It’s one of the towns nicest states, not somewhere Gardaí would be patrolling.
Its actually disgraceful the fact that there are no emergency call points in the town, pretty much every college town in the uk, us and on the continent have emergency call points that connect straight to the police on campus as well as in the residential areas. It has been shown to deter attacks such as this one.
@PJ Maguire Caomhánach: mobile phone?
@MaryLou(ny)McDonald: Stolen in an attack?
@Dolbert:
Is there not a Garda station right there across from the Castle and the Roost pub?
Don’t tell me it’s only occupied 9-5 or something…..
@Fred Johnson: That’s exactly what we’re telling you.
It has a ridiculous amount of burglaries but very little violence
@MaryLou(ny)McDonald: the presence of them alone deters attacks, also an attacker is likely to take their victims phone so they cant call the police.
@Eugene O’Gorman: her phone and laptop were not stolen as reported in Independent.
I hope the young lady is ok and recovers well.
Why is there no description of the attacker?
@Eamon Mac Gowan: Maybe they haven’t been able to talk to the girl yet. Hopefully she will be well enough soon to provide you with a detailed description Eamon.
@Eamon Mac Gowan: The girls jaw, nose and both eye sockets were broken-her poor face was literally smashed. I imagine she’s in no fit state to speak at all right now.
@Ned Kelly: Good Lord. The poor thing, I hope she recovers well, both physically and emotionally.
Whoever attacked this girl is the definition of a coward
@Mark Kenny: I think his (or their) abject insanity defines them more so than cowardice.
He was sane enough to choose to attack an innocent girl on the street in the dark rather than someone his own size in a well light area. Therefore he’s not insane just a calculated coward
As a parent of a 1st year student this has frightened the life out me, hope she makes good recovery and can get back to fulfilling her dreams and hopes for the future soon, as for the kind person that could do that words fail me.
The piece of dog dirt that did this deserves to be dry roasted Apache style. Nothing but an excruciating death would be proper justice . Poor girl.
In the proximity of Meath…excellent stuff Journal.
@MaryLou(ny)McDonald: Ahh they changed that magnificent piece of writing.
I believe maynooth village should read Moyglare village.
@Dáire Seosamh O’Nuamáin: Why? The Moyglare estates are in Maynooth.
@MaryLou(ny)McDonald: this estate is less than 1km from the Kildare-Meath border, so technically it is in the proximity of Meath.
Excellent stuff Marylou(ny)McDonald.
Gardai are looking for witness in the vicinity of Moyglare village not maynooth village which is a town
@_doesnotcompute: how apt your name is. The original article just said ‘in the proximity of Meath’, there are a lot of places in the proximity of Meath, hence my criticism of the use of such a vague description. The article has now obviously been amended and gives a more precise location.
No, they’re looking for witnesses near Moyglare Abbey estate, which is part of Maynooth, which is locally referred to as ‘the village’.
@MaryLou(ny)McDonald: “there are a lot of places in the proximity of Meath”
But in the context of the story this is the road out to Meath and would be the side of Maynooth ‘in the proximity of Meath’ although it is a strange way of saying ‘On the Kildare/Meath border’
Well done people, a girl has been assaulted and the usual gobsh*tes are on here arguing about the location
Eugene as someone from maynooth I have never heard maynooth called a village. We are proud of the fact it’s a town. Moyglare Abbey and Moyglare Village are beside each other on Moyglare road outside of the town, and Gardai are looking for anyone in the vicinity of Moyglare village and Moyglare Abbey to come forward if they saw something. More importantly I hope they catch the person who did this
@TheWordsofGreatMen: oh my god I can’t believe use are having this conversation about were it is who gives a crap would it make the poor girls Injuries seem less if she was attached in maynooth or Meath I hope her loved ones are not reading the nonsense use are going on with
I have no doubt that the Geography lesson will lesson the traumatic expierence for this young lady!!! Grow up D@ck heads
If the coward is hopefully caught he’ll use the “Bad upbringing, mentally disturbed” Trump card line and get a suspended sentence.
@Gavin Mckenna: “has since turned his life around”
What an horrific experience for this girl to go through…thankfully we still live in a country where these type of random attacks are extremely rare, but even one is too many. Alas, the chances of apprehending and securing a conviction against the animal responsible are slim to none
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