A teenager fell two-and-a-half metres from a three-storey building in Cork at 2.30am yesterday – and now has suspected serious spinal injuries.

Ciara O’Brien was on a night-out with her friends at the newly-opened The Moorings venue in Kinsale; a beach-themed bash was being held to mark the end of summer.

Following the incident, the 18-year-old was taken to Cork University Hospital, but has now been airlifted to the specialist spinal injuries unit at the Mater in Dublin.

Ciara had only recently celebrated her Debs and sat her Leaving Cert at Kinsale Community School. Friends told the Irish Sun that they and her family are “devastated and shocked” by what happened.

The full extend of her injuries is still being accessed by doctors in Dublin.

Kinsale Cllr Kevin Murphy, who knows the family, also told the Irish Sun: “It’s a terrible shock for all her relatives.

“You don’t expect such a dreadful thing to happen when a young girl is out socialising.

“The family are devastated and are praying she’ll make a full recovery.

“We don’t know the extent of her injuries, we’ll find that out over the coming days.

“They don’t know how bad it is yet.

“She is a gorgeous young girl. Her family are the nicest people you could ever meet — they are salt of the earth.

“It’s very upsetting for the whole Kinsale area. The family are very well-known in the locality and all our thoughts are with them.”

Gardai have now launched an investigation and a garda spokesman has confirmed: “An 18-year-old girl fell from the flat roof of a licenced premises on Market Street in Kinsale early on Saturday.

Beach party kicks off in 3 and a half hours!Why not come in fancy dress and you could win a holiday for 2!

Posted by The Moorings Kinsale on Friday, 21 August 2015

 

“She was taken to Cork University Hospital and was subsequently transferred to the Mater Hospital in Dublin. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.”

The Moorings nightclub only reopened last month under new ownership.

Business continued as normal at the venue last night with the second of their beach-themed bashes taking place as planned.

Declan Ryan of The Moorings last night explained to the Sunday World: “It was simply just a freak accident,” adding: “It was just an accident. She fell about 8 foot [2.5metres] from the side of the building.

"It wasn’t in the club it was beside it.”

He also said that he had met with Gardai and that all the staff at the venue were “hoping and praying she will be OK”.