‘I don’t feel safe in my own home’; Cork woman terrified after window smashed by thugs

A WOMAN who was grazed on the head by a rock thrown through the window of her home has said the random attack has left her too afraid to sleep at night.

Carmel Kidney, from Ballincollig, has already endured unimaginable heartbreak as a mother who lost three sons to addiction.

Now living alone, she has become the victim of a random rock attack, which has been described as a senseless act of thuggery.

The rock grazed her forehead as she was sitting near the window at the time.

“I do not feel safe in my home and this is not acceptable.

“I cannot sleep with the worry. I don’t know why I was targeted.”

The organisation Support After Crime (SAC) said such random attacks can have life-changing consequences for people, particulary vulnerable people living alone.

SAC founder Sally Hanlon said: “The fact that somebody would recklessly inflict harm on them is terrible. How would the people who are randomly carrying out these offences feel if they were done to their own family?”

Meanwhile, Cork businesswoman Sandra Murphy has also been left feeling terrified in her home on Model Farm Rd after a wave of break-ins in the area.

Gardaí are conducting patrols on the western end of the Model Farm Rd following a spate of thefts from cars in the past month.

Sandra Murphy told The Echo she spotted a man outside her home in recent days acting suspiciously. She has also seen CCTV footage of attempted break-ins in the area. Ms Murphy said: “I do not feel safe in my home.”

She praised gardaí for their response to the incidents, and said residents of the estates have set up social media connections to share information about suspicious activity in their areas.

Meanwhile, the rock attack on Ms Kidney’s home is one of a number of similar incidents in the Ballincollig area. The attack on Ms Kidney’s home had a particularly emotional impact on her — because the rock smashed through the window of the room where her three sons, who died in less than three years, had all been laid out.

John died on September 10, 2014, at the age of 37. Less than two years later, on June 26, 2016, his twin, Fergus, died at the age of 39.

Almost a year later, Alan died on June 13, 2017.

They had all been caught in the grip of heroin addiction, but the attack on Ms Kidney’s home at the weekend is not believed to be linked to any drug-related activity.