GARDAÍ ARE SEEKING to question a number of men and women in connection with a savage attack on a young mother in Co Tipperary. 

Scarlett Faulkner, aged in her 20s, suffered critical head injuries when she was attacked at a roadside, located outside Birdhill village, at around 5.30pm on Saturday.

The mother of one, who is from Limerick City, remains gravely ill at Cork University Hospital, where she was taken after being initially airlifted from the scene by a Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter to University Hospital Limerick.

Video footage shared across social media of the attack shows a male brandishing what appears to be a hatchet next to a woman, not Ms Faulkner, as two males approach them, one of whom is armed with what appears to be a sword, and a second female flees from the scene on foot.

The mobile phone footage recorded from inside a passing vehicle then shows another female using a mobile phone to record a fourth female who appears to be repeatedly striking another person on the ground, believed to be Ms Faulkner, with a long implement.

A still from the mobile phone footage.

A male voice is heard on the video footage saying, “Oh my god there is someone on the road”, as the vehicle approaches the women at the side of the road.

A woman’s voice on the video footage is then heard in shocked tones saying: “Oh my god, she’s hitting her head.”

The savage scenes that played out on the R494 last Saturday afternoon have been roundly condemned.

Limerick Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins called the incident “truly shocking” and appealed “to anybody who has information to please contact the gardaí”.

“It’s truly concerning and people are asking the question, what happened here,” Collins told RTÉ News.

“How could such a brutal incident happen on a public road in the middle of the day?”.

Members of Ms Faulkner’s family, in social media posts, have asked for people to pray for her survival and recovery.

Gardaí said they “continue to investigate” the “serious assault” on Ms Faulkner, which occurred on the R494 at Birdhill.

The garda investigation team is specifically interested in hearing from people with information on the assault, or who may have seen two vehicles gardaí believe were used by those involved in the assault.

A spokesperson said:

“In particular, Gardaí are seeking information on the movements of two vehicles, a grey 162 Ford Transit van and a blue 161 Volkswagen Touran people carrier, travelling in convoy or driving dangerously between 4.30pm and 5.30pm on Saturday 21st March 2026 in and around Birdhill village, the townlands of Cooleen, Crag Cross, Shower Cross, Kylebeg, Annaholty and Thornhill, all in Co. Tipperary.”

Gardaí are also seeking video footage, dash-cam or mobile phone or otherwise, from any road users who were travelling in the vicinity of the assault last Saturday.

“Gardaí are aware of video footage of the incident circulating online and ask members of the public not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead to provide it to investigating Gardaí,” the spokesperson added.

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.