Irish student Clodagh Cogley writes about her injuries

Clodagh Cogley, who was seriously injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse last week, has posted on Facebook about her injuries.

The 21-year-old said: “Hey friends, just an update to let you guys know how I’m getting on (slowly catching up with the individual messages I promise!) The fall from the balcony left me with 2 collapsed lungs, a broken shoulder, a broken knee, 5 broken ribs and a broken spinal cord... Meaning the chances of me using my legs again are pretty bleak.

"Not the best odds but I'm moving to a great rehabilitation centre here in San Francisco for 2 months (it has dog therapy :-)) and intend to give it everything I've got.

“Who knows maybe legs have been holding me back all these years and I’ll realise my talent for wheelchair basketball

“The thing I’m taking from this tragedy is that life is short and I intend to honour those who died by living the happiest and most fulfilling life possible.

“Enjoy a good dance and the feeling of grass beneath your feet like it’s the last time because in this crazy world you never know when it might be.”

Ms Cogley, who is from Milltown in Dublin, had finished her third year of a psychology degree in Trinity College Dublin before flying to the States on a J1 visa to spend the summer working in California.

Ms Cogley had entered Trinity on an academic scholarship on the basis of “excellence” of her Leaving Certificate results, according to her former school, Alexandra College.

Her father is TV3’s director of broadcast, Niall Cogley, and she is the granddaughter of rugby commentator Fred Cogley.

Ms Cogley, who was being treated at the Eden Medical Centre in Castro Valley, California, has been moved to a different hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area where she will be offered longer-term care and rehabilitation.

Niall Murray from Rathfarnham, Dublin, who was injured when the balcony collapsed in Berkeley, has also been moved from Eden to a different hospital.

Sean Fahey, who was badly injured in the incident, posted on his Facebook wall last week thanking people for their kind words.

He wrote: “Thanks everyone for the support in such a dark time RIP”.

Mr Fahey, a former St Mary’s College Dublin student from Rathmines, was at school with two of the deceased, Eoghan Culligan and Niccolai Schuster.

Mr Fahey was the first of the injured to be released from hospital on Monday. He had been treated at Eden Medical Centre in Castro Valley, California and has now returned to Ireland.

Conor Flynn from Mount Merrion, who is studying at the Dublin Institute of Technology, has also been released from the John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, California. Mr Flynn is said to be staying close to friends in the San Francisco Bay Area as they continue their recovery.

Two other students, Hannah Waters from Castleknock and Aoife Beary from Blackrock, who were critically injured in the balcony collapse, remain in Highland Hospital in Oakland, California.

The two young women are believed to have suffered the most serious injuries, though neither are any longer said to be in a life-threatening condition.

Jack Halpin, a gaelic footballer and UCD graduate from Rathmines, is still being treated for his injuries in John Nuir Hospital in Walnut Creek.