Gavin and his six-year-old sister Millie remain in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children following the attack on their mother's car in the Moyross area of Limerick city.

"Gavin has moved his legs and he is awake while Millie is improving, " his mother Sheila Murray said in a statement issued to the Sunday Tribune through Limerick councillor John Ryan. Cllr Ryan said that Ms Murray's terrible week had been "tempered a little, " by the slight improvement in her son's condition. Gavin, whose condition is still life-threatening, had only started school at St Munchin's in Ballynanty days before the incident and a poignant photo of him from his first day at school, sent to him by the principal and teachers there, hangs over his hospital bed. It has been reported that Gavin has lost one of his ears, that one side of his face is very badly burnt and that he has burns all over his neck, chest and back, where the car seat burned into his skin.

Sheila Murray and the children's father Niall McNamara have been praying that their son will survive the ordeal. The movement of his legs has provided them with a chink of hope. Cllr Ryan said: "Their anxiety has been tempered a little now that Gavin is awake and is moving his legs."

In her statement, Sheila Murray said, "I want to say how much gratitude I have for the emergency staff who arrived on the scene so quickly and I have the height of praise for the staff here in Our Lady's in Crumlin. I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from the gardai, especially Garda Mary Walsh from Mayorstone garda station." Murray also thanked the people from Moyross, Limerick and all over the country who had sent messages of goodwill and concern to her children.

Two teenagers appeared before a special court sitting on Thursday evening in Limerick, charged in connection with the savage arson attack. The two 17-year-olds . . . who cannot be named for legal reasons . . . were charged with intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to both children.

Gardai confirmed last night that a third teenager, a 16-year-old, who was questioned about the incident was released without charge late on Friday night.

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