Mum beaten & left in pool of blood after gang storm home and hold gun to her head in case of mistaken identity

: "I was yelling at her like, 'Get in here ya messer' but I heard a male voice coming back to me.

"I closed the door and the hall door swung open. I remember thinking, 'they're going to go boo' but instead I either got a box in the face or I was hit by a gun in the face."

Gillian was then struck "repeatedly over the head" as the three-strong group charged into her house in Finglas.

The men, who Gillian believes were in their early 20s, kept shouting at her: "Where's the f***ing money?" and "Where's the bags?".

The mum pleaded with them to stop as they must have the wrong house and the only cash she had was 100 euros in her purse and her daughter's 70 euros on the mantelpiece.

"While all of this was going on I was being kicked over and over again," Gillian said.

"He was sticking the gun right into my forehead and looking straight into my face and saying 'give me the f***ing money'."

The gang told also told her they would kill her son and daughter who were ";in a van at the end of the road".

Gillian said: "I was trying to lift my head up, not to look around but to orientate myself and your man kept pushing my head back down into the pool of blood that was on the ground.

"I genuinely 100 per cent thought I was going to die."

One of the bandits demanded Gillian unlock her phone and looked through it before chucking it to the floor.

'CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY'

This led Gillian and police to believe the attack was a "case of mistaken identity".

When the men finally left, Gillian noticed she was surrounded by blood and called 999.

She said: "When I got up onto my knees, I was sliding on the blood.

"I couldn’t even see the phone because the blood was coming down my face.";

Gillian was taken to Blanchardstown Hospital for the night for treatment for her "two centimetre gash", a black eyed, bruised cheek and injuries to her legs and back.

She has not returned to her house, which was "completely destroyed" during the attack, instead staying with her mum.

The young mother described the ordeal as a "nightmare" and like "something from a horrific movie", adding that it has "scarred me mentally and physically for the rest of my life".

I genuinely 100 per cent thought I was going to die.

Gillian Melia

Friends and neighbours have launched a GoFundMe, which has so far raised more than 5,000 euros, to help Gillian get her life back.

She said she feels "like a kid at Christmas", adding: "I feel so privileged, I feel so special, I feel so loved. I’ll be thanking them for the rest of my life."

A police spokesperson said: "Gardaí are investigating an aggravated burglary which occurred in Finglas on the 12th August 2021 at approximately 11:30pm.

"No arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing."