A toddler who fell five floors from a hotel roof balcony last weekend, is believed to be showing “positive” signs of recovery, writes David Raleigh.

Neil Shanahan, aged 2, from Farranshone, is being treated at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Dublin, for multiple injuries after falling off a balcony on the sixth floor of the Limerick Strand Hotel, last Saturday.

He had ventured into a lift in the hotel which took him to the sixth floor where he made his way to a balcony and fell five storeys, landing on patio furniture on the first floor of the hotel.

While the toddler sustained multiple injuries to his internal organs, Fr Pat Seaver, a neighbour and local curate of St Munchin’s Church said: “The news seems to be pretty good, so I’m told.”

“A relative was telling me that the neurosurgeon looking after Neil has made positive sounds,” Fr Seaver said.

“My experience of doctors, is that in these type of cases they tend to be more cautious than optimistic, but this seemingly was more optimistic.”

“That’s good news,” he said.

Fr Seaver said he had been at the hotel on the afternoon in question, chatting with Neil, his one-year-old brother, and their mother Martina, at a coffee morning organised by the Farranshone Residents Association.

“Neil and the other children were flying around, they were having such fun,” he said.

“It all seemed so safe. We were all in the bar/restaurant area, and no one obviously thought he would go into the lift and up onto the sixth floor,” Fr Seaver added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the local community said a special mass will take place at St Munchin’s Church at 6pm, tomorrow “to support Neil’s recovery”.

“We want to spread the word that everyone is invited, not just the local community. It is to show solidarity with the Shanahan family,” the spokesperson said.

“So many people were asking what they could do…The more elderly residents of Farranshone don’t have access to social media and they haven’t been able to show their support for the family, so they wanted to have a mass,” the spokesperson explained.

A neighbour said: “They (family) must be going through hell.”

Local Independent councillor Frankie Daly said he was praying for the toddler since news broke of his fall last Saturday.

“My thoughts and prayers are with that young innocent little boy. I’m praying for him everyday,” Cllr Daly added.