Girl left with suspected fractured skull after 'obscene' attack on Cork ...

“A child, in her own home with her mother and siblings, was caught in the crossfire here,” Supt Gary McPolin said.

“It was an obscene and appalling incident, and a shocking invasion of this family’s privacy.

“Anybody that can assist us in this investigation has a moral obligation, they are duty bound in a case like this, to assist us. There can be no bystander apathy here.” 

 A major garda investigation is now underway into the assault and a linked incident of criminal damage at the house on the New Line, just off main street in Charleville.

Gardaí say they were alerted to a disturbance at the house at around 11.30pm on Monday.

It is believed that a gang of up to five men, all wearing balaclavas, arrived at the house and began using a range of implements to smash up a car which was parked outside.

The gang then began attacking the house. The child, her mother and at least two other children were inside at the time.

It is believed the child was standing in the hallway when one of the gang kicked in the front door. She suffered a head injury during the course of the incident.

The gang fled before gardaí arrived. An ambulance was also called to the scene.

Paramedics rendered immediate emergency medical treatment for her head injuries and rushed her by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.

However, the full extent of her injuries only became apparent after detailed scans revealed a suspected fractured skull and possible brain bleed, it was decided that she be transferred to Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street in what gardaí described as a serious but stable condition.

The house and surrounding area was sealed off and preserved overnight by gardaí to facilitate a technical and forensic examination which was conducted on Tuesday by the Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit in the hunt for forensics.

Door to door enquiries were conducted in the area, and CCTV has been harvested from several local businesses in a bid to identify the gang’s vehicle, and to trace its movements in the hours before and after the attack.

Detectives are also trying to establish a motive for the attack which it’s believed may be linked to a feud involving families in Cork and Limerick, with one strand of the investigation exploring if the Charleville incident was in retaliation for a similar incident earlier this month when a gang attacked a car and a house in Patrickswell in Co Limerick.

Gardai, who have established an incident room at Mallow Garda Station, appealed for witnesses to the incident, or for anyone with information that could help track down those responsible, to contact them.

Supt McPolin issued a specific appeal for anyone who may have witnessed the incident, for anyone who may have been in or around the New Line area of Charleville on Monday between 10.30pm and 12midnight, or to anyone with camera footage, including dash-cam footage, from the area at the time to contact the investigation team at Mallow Garda Station at 022 31450, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.