Girl, 7, loses an eye as mum blames an exploding vape

'She was walking across to the ice cream van and when she was coming back, bang, something exploded in her face'

A seven-year-old girl getting an ice cream has had her life changed forever after she lost an eye. Ruby Grainger was left badly injured when a battery acid from a vape exploded into her face, medics believe.

The incident occurred in Fortunestown, Tallaght, in Dublin, where fires lit by local troublemakers are causing chaos. Ruby was crossing the green of her housing estate on Saturday, October 5 when she passed an open fire on the grass. Something flew into her right eye, causing it to bleed profusely.

Her mother, Ciara Grainger, 32, said: "She was walking across to the ice cream van and when she was coming back, bang, something exploded in her face. All I hear is screaming.

"She was hysterical. When she got to the house, I could've collapsed. The blood was rushing all down her face. I put her to my chest and rang the ambulance - I was frantic."

Ruby was quickly taken to Tallaght Hospital by ambulance with her mum recalling that when doctors examined her eye, there was "nothing there", reports Dublin Live. The little girl was later rushed to the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital for emergency surgery, only to be told it was the news they they were dreading.

Ciara said: "After the operation, the doctor said: 'It's bad news, we had to take the eye away'. They said this is the first case of this kind of damage from a fire - they have seen explosions but to lose her whole eye, the socket, everything.

"I don't think it has properly hit me that the child has no eye now. For a split second her whole life changed, and mine too. When she lost her eye, I lost mine.

"If I could give her mine I would. I'd give everything for her. She's only seven, and this never should have happened to her. I can't believe it."

The distraught mum said doctors believe the battery acid caused the injury as "the eyeball was like mashed potato." Ruby didn't feel any impact on her eye, suggesting the damage wasn't due to a physical object. Following the incident, remnants of burnt-out vapes were found near the fire site by Ciara's niece.

The young girl now faces the prospect of a prosthetic eye, with hopes of undergoing the procedure in six weeks as long as she heals. Ciara continued: "The left eye is also black and blue, and they say there's a low chance of her also losing sight in the other eye, but we have to keep checking it. She will also have to go to a special school for kids with vision impairment. It's going to be a tough road for us."

Ciara, who has been a resident of the Fortunestown estate for six years, said she's had "nothing but hassle" and is desperate for an emergency council transfer. The Dublin mum said: "The estate is a joke. It's teenagers, 16, 15, 14, causing havoc, they might not even be from this estate but they hang around in this estate. It's constant around here. I don't want to live here anymore - my kids don't want to go out to play anymore."

She is also seeking justice for her daughter but feels it's like "finding a needle in a haystack". With Halloween approaching, Ciara fears a repeat of chaos seen in 2023, describing the green outside their home as a war zone. She added: "They light fireworks all year round, and they are shooting them at kids, people's houses and cars.

"At this stage, I am sick to death of it. There are so many fires on the field here it's the normal thing. When we were on our way home from the hospital there was a fire there again. This is all year around and all the time."

Ciara, who suffers from anxiety due to the incidents, worries about the safety of the children, saying: "Next time it will be another child's face." A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Ruby's medical costs.