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30th Sep 2024

Sister of woman killed in Limerick XL Bully attack calls for stricter laws

Simon Kelly

“They just turned on her.”

The sister of the 23-year-old woman killed in a dog attack in Limerick in June has called for stricter laws around XL Bully dogs.

Nicole Morey was tragically killed following the attack which happened inside a residential property in Ballyneety.

Ms Morey sustained serious injuries from the attack and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The dog involved in the attack was destroyed and three other dogs were seized by authorities.

Nicole’s sister Jolene is set to appear on RTÉ’s Upfront show this evening, and has called for stricter laws around the ownership of XL Bully dogs in Ireland.

Sister of woman killed in Limerick dog attack calls for stricter laws

From Tuesday, October 1, new legislation will make it illegal to import, breed or sell an XL Bully Dog in Ireland.

From February 1, 2025, it will also be illegal to own the dogs without a certification of exemption, which will be obtained from local authorities.

“The law they’re bringing out, you have to have a license, you have to have paper. But my sister had all them,” Jolene tells Katie Hannon.

“Nicole loved them dogs. And the dogs loved Nicole, but they just turned on her,” she added.

Describing the horror of finding out about her sister’s death, Jolene said: “I was sitting in my room in darkness, and I rang Nicole because I didn’t believe it was real.

“Then I texted her, I said, ‘Are you okay?’ And got no message back. And then a video got sent to me. And they asked me if it was with my sister. And I just remember clicking into a video and seeing her on the floor.”

“I was just waiting for the phone call to say she’s gone because I had a feeling in my stomach that she didn’t survive it. But my mom was like, ‘No, it’s only bites and stuff.’ Then my uncle rang, and I just knew from his voice that she was gone.”

Jolene paid tribute to her older sister in the interview: “My family want Nicole to be remembered as how much of a good person she was, not the girl that died from the dog attack or the videos that’s going viral.

“Nicole did so well in life. Nicole would do anything for anyone. She’s just a lovable person.”

You can watch the full interview on Upfront with Katie Hannon tonight at 10.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.  

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