The child, who is a member of the travelling community, suffered massive blood loss and needed emergency surgery after the horrific attack.

The assault occurred when a man in his 20s took the child from her west-of-Ireland home in the middle of the night. The child's mother was not at home at the time. He brought the girl to a nearby location and raped her before returning her to the caravan where she lives with her mother and eight siblings.

The child is said to be "deeply traumatised and upset" following the incident, according to a family member who spoke to the Sunday Tribune. "She's a very good little girl and she doesn't understand what happened to her, " her grandmother said.

The chief suspect, a man in his mid-20s, is a second cousin of the victim. It is understood that he had spent the hours prior to the attack drinking with relatives of the child. When the child's mother returned home, she spotted her daughter's injuries. She called the child's grandmother, who lives nearby, to examine the girl and gardai were alerted immediately.

Gardai sealed off the site where the attack is believed to have occurred. Detectives arrested the chief suspect nearby. He is currently remanded to Castlerea prison and a book of evidence is being prepared in the case, including the compilation of DNA and other forensic evidence.

The girl was rushed to University College Hospital Galway (UCHG) and transferred from there to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin, for specialist care. A team of expert surgeons have told the family that the girl will have to undergo further major surgery, within the next six weeks, due to the extent of her injuries, which include damage to her bowels and genital area.

She is due to return to UCHG today.

It is understood that the child told gardai the identity of her attacker. "The little one was crying. She couldn't hold it in. She told us what happened and what was done to her. She was very upset and frightened, " the child's grandmother told the Sunday Tribune.

"Her mother came over to my place at 7am in the morning and said there's something wrong with [the child] and I went over straight away. The little one was in a terrible way.

She was bleeding and was upset.

I called the guards and they were here straight away, " she said.

The child was deeply traumatised by the surgery, her grandmother said. "She was very afraid before she had the operation. It took a few hours and her mother is still beside herself with fright that the girl will be damaged for life.

"Her mother is trying to keep cheerful for the little one's sake, but she's very upset too. Nobody knows what to do or how to cope with something like this, " the child's grandmother said.