Limerick dog attack: Some restricted breeds could be banned, Minister says after death of woman

Some restricted breeds of dog could be banned in Ireland if a group reviewing dog controls recommends the Government to do so, a Minister has said following the death of a young woman in Co Limerick.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has asked the stakeholder group to “prioritise” the issue of restricted breeds, following the death of Nicole Morey (23) at her house in Ballyneety in the early hours of Wednesday, after being mauled by at least one of her own dogs.

Armed gardaí responded to the house shortly before midnight on Tuesday, and upon encountering a number of aggressive dogs, they destroyed one and restrained three more.

[ Limerick dog attack: What is an XL bully and how dangerous are they? ]

It was suspected that one or all of the dogs were on a restricted dog breeding list that requires them to be muzzled. Locals say the dog is understood to be an XL bully, a large version of an American pit bull.

Ms Morey died at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics who treated her there. Her body was removed to University Hospital Limerick where a postmortem was to be carried out.

Ms Morey’s granduncle, Anthony O’Donnell, said: “She was out for her birthday, she was 23, and she went home, opened the hall door to go in home when the dog attacked her, jumped out on top of her and attacked her.

“By the time the gardaí got there, they [the dogs] were mauling her, the gardaí couldn’t really get them off of her, they had to shoot the dog to get him off of her, that’s what I’m hearing from family members that are ringing me.”

Former deputy Garda commissioner John Twomey was appointed as the independent chairperson of the dog control stakeholder group in March. The group is made up of representatives from Government departments and interest groups and is due to make recommendations on strengthening the policy and legislation around dog control.

Ms Humphreys said she had asked the chairperson on Wednesday to prioritise the issue of restricted breeds in Ireland. She said it was “hard to believe” that somebody had died as a result of an attack by a dog

“There are 11 different restricted breeds. I have asked them would they look at that as part of their work programme as a matter of priority,” she said at an event in Trim, Co Meath.

“I’m hoping they will be able to report back to me in the autumn regarding what further action they recommend that I should take. If they do recommend that we ban some of these restricted breeds, I’m happy to take on board their recommendations and I’m happy to ban them.”

Family friend Fr Richard Davern led prayers at St Mary’s Church in Athlunkard in memory of Ms Morey.

Fr Davern said “everyone is just shocked” and that he had been told Ms Morey had ambitions “to go back to college and train as a SNA [special needs assistant]”.

Her family have planned to release balloons in tribute to the deceased woman at an event in Limerick on Thursday.