LAST UPDATE | 6 hrs ago

A WOMAN SERIOUSLY injured in an assault in Co Tipperary yesterday has been transferred from University Hospital Limerick to Cork University Hospital with serious head injuries.

The woman was yesterday airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after an assault involving multiple people on a roadway in Tipperary. 

The incident happened yesterday evening, at approximately 5pm, near Birdhill in Co Tipperary which is located between the M7 motorway and Killaloe. 

It is believed the woman, in her 20s from Limerick city, was attacked by at least two suspects who beat her with weapons.

It is understood the scene of the incident was near a service station.

Gardaí were working on several theories as to the background of the assault including that the woman may have been travelling in a car that was rammed by a group in another vehicle and dragged from her car and attacked with implements at the side of the roadway.

The injured woman was initially attended to by HSE paramedics at the scene and then quickly airlifted by a Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter to University Hospital Limerick due to the extent of her injuries.

Doctors continued to monitor the woman at the Resus unit at UHL and she underwent a CT scan at the hospital where her family maintained a vigil.

Paramedics transferred the woman from UHL to CUH head trauma unit where her condition remains serious today.

A garda spokeswoman said that a forensic examination was being carried out at the scene on the R494 near Birdhill. 

“Shortly before 5.30pm, Gardaí and emergency services responded to the incident in which a woman, aged in her 20s, was seriously injured.

“She was airlifted to hospital where she remains in a critical condition. The scene remains preserved for a technical examination and the road remains closed with local diversions in place,” the spokeswoman added, 

Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to come forward – they have also asked any road users who were on the R494 between Birdhill and the M7 motorway between 5pm and 6pm and who might have footage to make contact with their local station.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station on (067) 50450, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

Additional reporting by David Raleigh