Three-month-old baby mauled to death by dog while she was asleep after canine went upstairs in night

A three-month-old baby has died after a dog mauled her to death while she was asleep in her bed.

Mia O’Connell was sleeping in a house in Cork, Ireland, when the animal went upstairs at around 2am and attacked her, Cork Beo reports.

Paramedics rushed to the scene and treated the baby girl’s injuries before she was transferred by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.

Sadly, Mia was pronounced dead in hospital some time later.

A post-mortem is due to be carried out.

The terraced house, in Clashmore, Co Waterford, has been cordoned off for forensic examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.

A file will then be sent to the Coroners’ Court, with an inquest into the attack being held at a later date.

Mia was born in February 2021 to young couple Rhys O’Connell and Ella Wood.

Village to ‘rally around family’ for support

Local residents from Clashmore have spoken of their shock at the attack.

Pat Flavin said the family were in the prayers of everyone in the parish and that everyone will “do what they can for them”.

He said: “You hear this kind of thing on television but you don’t expect it to happen here. There are about 1,800 people in this area. It is a small place.”

One resident said the village would rally around the family for support.

“There will no doubt be a guard of honour (for the funeral). We have done that for everybody and there have been a few deaths during Covid. It was done for a lady who died of breast cancer and for an older man. People will do what they can,” she said.

Local councillor Pat Nugent, who is from Clashmore, said the attack happened only hours after a full day of village festivities.

“This is the last thing you would expect to wake up to on a bank holiday morning. We had such a lovely day in the village of Clashmore yesterday.

"We had a cancer appeal and the [Gaelic Athletic Association] club was involved in it and we had vintage cars and a tractor run. People were out walking. It was back to a bit of normality.

"The family aren’t very well known because they are renting and new to the area. We had a lovely mass yesterday morning. Little did we know that a tragedy would occur within 24 hours.

"It is a lovely village. The houses [where the tragedy occurred] are about 15 years old. Three or four of them were sold and the rest are rented out.”

Fr Milo Guiry of Ardmore, whose parish includes the village of Clashmore, called what had happened a “terrible tragedy”.

He said: “We will keep the family in our prayers. Every support will be offered to them. It is terrible, terrible news.”

Prayers for the family will be offered at masses in the coming days.