{"id":136016,"date":"2025-10-21T12:19:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T12:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/136016\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T12:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T12:19:10","slug":"woman-21-stabbed-50-times-by-ex-boyfriend-says-its-miracle-shes-alive-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/136016\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman (21) stabbed 50 times by ex-boyfriend says it\u2019s \u2018miracle\u2019 she\u2019s alive \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">A 21-year-old woman who was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend 50 times, leaving her blind in one eye, has said her life will never be the same again.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">She has urged those in abusive relationships to leave \u201cbefore it gets even worse\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">Niamh Kelly suffered life-altering injuries after Josh O\u2019Brien (22) carried out an unprovoked attack last year near her home in Firhouse, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dublin-24\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dublin-24\/\">Dublin 24<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">Ms Kelly said the pair had begun a relationship in November 2022 before she became pregnant, saying that at this point \u201cthings kind of went downhill\u201d. She said O\u2019Brien became \u201caggressive\u201d and started sending \u201cnasty\u201d messages to her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">She still gets flashbacks of the attack, she said, describing it as \u201ctraumatic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">Ms Kelly met O\u2019Brien about a week after they broke up in September 2024, she recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cHe just kept kind of pushing me to get back together, but I just kept denying,\u201d she said, speaking on RT\u00c9 Radio\u2019s Morning Ireland on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">Once they reached the gate of her home, they continued talking, with O\u2019Brien telling her they could be a \u201cgood family\u201d. After rejecting him again, she said he suddenly began to punch and slap her in the face several times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/crime-law\/courts\/2025\/10\/20\/man-who-stabbed-ex-girlfriend-50-times-in-breathtaking-attack-jailed-for-14-years\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Man who stabbed ex-girlfriend 50 times jailed for 14 yearsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"'If I wasn&#x2019;t found, then I would have been dead on the side of the road,' Niamh Kelly has said. Photograph: Collins \" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LDSLKYQQFGAOTWEGWW7V5TZPSY.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>&#8216;If I wasn\u2019t found, then I would have been dead on the side of the road,&#8217; Niamh Kelly has said. Photograph: Collins  <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Ms Kelly recalled lying on the ground after being punched several times before he stabbed her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cI didn\u2019t really see him stab me, I just felt all the blood all over my hands,\u201d she said, adding that she became \u201cweaker and weaker\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Her spine was injured after he severed a part of her spinal cord, she said, meaning she could not move while on the ground.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">\u201cI can\u2019t really walk with my leg now,\u201d she said, adding she uses crutches to walk and requires a wheelchair for longer distances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">An off-duty paramedic came to her aid before she was brought to hospital, where medical staff believed she would never walk again due to the damage to her spinal cord.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cI am grateful that I am still here today,\u201d she said, describing it as a \u201cmiracle\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">Her ex-boyfriend<b> <\/b>was<b> <\/b>sentenced on Monday to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/crime-law\/courts\/2025\/10\/20\/man-who-stabbed-ex-girlfriend-50-times-in-breathtaking-attack-jailed-for-14-years\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/crime-law\/courts\/2025\/10\/20\/man-who-stabbed-ex-girlfriend-50-times-in-breathtaking-attack-jailed-for-14-years\/\">15 years and six months, with the final 18 months suspended<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Ms Kelly thought he would receive a longer sentence due to the severity of her injuries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">\u201cI am obviously going to be disappointed, but at the end of the day, it is what the judge thinks is best,\u201d she said.  However, she added she is glad the sentence is more than 10 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cMy life\u2019s never really going to be the same again,\u201d she said, adding that she cannot return to her job due to her injuries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t found, then I would have been dead on the side of the road,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">\u201cIt\u2019s just not fair, I have to heal from the trauma that he caused me while he\u2019s just obviously sitting in prison.\u201d .<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Asked if she had advice for other women in relationships with abusive partners, she said:<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">\u201cOnce you see signs that it\u2019s getting toxic, you need to go,\u201d adding that there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.womensaid.ie\/get-help\/support-services\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.womensaid.ie\/get-help\/support-services\/\">help available<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cGet out of that relationship before it gets even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Anyone needing support should contact: Women\u2019s Aid Helpline (24 hours) 1800 341 900; Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Helpline (24 hours) 1800 778 888; Safe Ireland (01) 5783001; Men\u2019s Development Network Advice Line 1800 816 588; garda\u00ed (24 hours) 999\/112.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 21-year-old woman who was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend 50 times, leaving her blind in one eye, has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,52,81095,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-136016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-dublin","11":"tag-dublin-24","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-featured-news","14":"tag-featurednews","15":"tag-headlines","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-latest-news","19":"tag-latestnews","20":"tag-main-news","21":"tag-mainnews","22":"tag-news","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}