An Irish woman who suffered serious injuries after being shot by her Australian ex-boyfriend has spoken for the first time since the attack.
Social care worker Eileen Gibbons, 38, talked to her mother over the phone from her hospital bed on Saturday - four days after she was shot. Eileen, a mum-of-one from Castlebar in Co Mayo, underwent two surgeries at the Royal Darwin Hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Last night her first cousin Enda O’Brien told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “This morning she talked to her mother on the phone. They’ve done two different rounds of surgery.
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"At the moment she is actually responsive, but she’s a long road ahead of her. There’s a lot of damage done. I couldn’t see her coming back in the next few months.”
Eileen, who is mum to a one-year-old daughter Silvia, was shot in what police believe to be a murder-suicide attempt by her ex-boyfriend Ralph Donald. On Tuesday Donald, 35, shot her at his family home in Darwin and then turned the gun on himself.
Eileen had reportedly fled her home with Donald in Darwin’s northern suburbs to stay at a domestic violence shelter. Enda, who grew up with Eileen in Castlebar, said: “It’s very tragic all round, there’s no winners in this.
“His [Donald’s] mother is looking after Eileen’s little girl, they have a very good relationship. She had left him, she’d been gone two or three months. His mother and brothers were very good to Eileen after the break-up.”
Police in Australia reported that Eileen was shot after she returned to the house she’d left months earlier to collect belongings. Authorities were called to the home on Sprigg Street in Millner just after 6.30pm local time on Tuesday after a neighbour heard two gunshots.
Donald died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a firearm was found lying near his body. Police confirmed that other members of Donald’s family were at the home at the time, and paramedics stabilised Eileen at the scene before rushing her to hospital for surgery.
Neighbour Kim Leonard-Bond, who knew the family well, said Donald’s brother had performed chest compressions at the scene before the ambulance arrived. Eileen moved to Australia seven years ago and had returned home for an extended holiday just last year.
Major Crime Detective Paul Morrissey said the couple had both lived at the home “at various times”. He said: “It’s concerning for neighbours, it’s obviously distressing for family members and friends of the persons involved and also a confronting scene for first responders.
He said while investigations are in their “infancy” he did not anticipate any arrests in what he described as an attempted murder-suicide. Eileen’s mum Ann along with her aunt and one of her cousins are now planning to fly to Australia to be by her hospital bedside.
Enda said: “Her mum will be going out in the middle of the week, they are waiting for a passport for one person. She has a few friends out there from Mayo who are around her and looking after her.
“She will probably return home to her family here in Ireland, but that won’t be for a while, she wouldn’t be fit to travel.” Eileen’s friends and family yesterday set up a GoFundMe which by teatime had already exceeded its €50,000 target.
The money will be used to pay for flights and accommodation for Eileen’s family to be with her during her recovery. The fundraising page describes Eileen as “a compassionate caregiver known for her dedication to her patients”.
It adds: “[She] now needs our help to overcome the challenges she faces. In addition to the physical and emotional toll on Eileen, her mother Ann, and other family members are desperate to be by her side as she embarks upon her path to recovery.
“This GoFundMe page aims to raise funds to reunite Eileen with her family members so they can offer her love, care and support... and eventually bring her back home.”
Enda said: “The family are still in shock. They lost Eileen’s father two years ago, so she is still grieving that.
“They are speechless [at the generosity], they don’t know what to say. They wouldn’t have the money to be going out themselves.
“This means that her mother Ann can stay out there for a few months if needs be.”
To help visit the To Help Eileen Gibbons and Family page here.
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