Former Army corporal Mr James Guerin spoke last night of his family's devastation at hearing that his daughter, Private Laura Guerin, had lost her left hand in an explosion at the Kilworth firing range. The range is not far from the family home in Fermoy, Co Cork.
The accident occurred at 6 p.m. on Tuesday when five Army recruits, nearing the end of their training, were firing a 60 millimetre mortar.
Private Guerin, it is understood, was closest to the mortar when the shell misfired or exploded. She was rushed to the Cork University Hospital, where surgeons spent some hours trying to save her left arm. However, Mr Guerin has confirmed that his daughter has lost her left hand.
Mr Guerin, who served in the Army for 23 years and had five tours of duty in the Lebanon, said his daughter was in shock and trying to come to terms with what had happened.
"She's being very brave about it but we are all so shocked. It was a terrible thing to have happened. I don't think it has actually sunk in yet. Our hope is that she will get over this and come through. She loves the Army and I know that she will want to go back.
"This has been terribly upsetting for us - we will have to wait. We will have to see what's going to happen next. It's a bit early to say. My wife, Mary, my son, Oran, and Laura's sister, Selina, are very upset by it all."
The other injured soldiers, all under 20 years, are: Cpl Thomas McGrath, Private Derek Dinan and Private Seamus Doolan, all of Kickham Barracks, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, and Private William O'Hare, of Collins Barracks, Cork.
A full-scale investigation involving Army explosives experts and military police is now under way.