A 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty to three counts of child neglect – the court heard how mother slapped her baby and hit her older children
A mother wept in court as she heard how he slapped her crying son and also neglected her two older children.
The 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty to three counts of child neglect in the east of Ireland on various dates between 2018 and 2023. The maximum punishment for the offence is seven years’ imprisonment.
The two boys and one girl cannot be named to protect their identities. The youngest boy was less than a year old at the time of the crime against him. At that time, the age of the elder boy was between four and eight years, while the age of the girl was between seven and nine years.
An investigating garda told Oisin Clark BL, prosecuting, that a referral was received from Tusla (the independent statutory regulator of early years services in Ireland) in July 2023 after concerns were raised by the principal of the oldest boy’s school. Around this time, the social worker also met the girl, who made some allegations about her mother, according to the Irish Mirror report.
A multi-agency child protection conference about the three children took place in August 2023. During the meeting, the woman and the social worker agreed that the children would go to live with their mother. The three children were also listed on the Child Protection Notification System for six months due to concerns.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today that there were concerns about how the woman, who had a drug addiction problem, was coping, particularly in light of her recent family tragedies and the impact they may have had on her ability to care for her children. She suffered several deaths in her family in late 2022 and early 2023, including her husband’s death by suicide.
Specialist gardaí interviewed the older boy and girl in September 2023. They separately described that their mother slapped the child on more than one occasion, including slapping him in the face when he was crying.
The boy said that once when they were visiting their father’s grave, his mother told his sister, “If you don’t stop crying, I’ll put you with Daddy.” The girl also told gardaí about the incident and said her mother had also kicked her in the leg.
The boy said his sister was taking care of him and the child, cooking and cleaning. She said that their mother was often absent from home and she had seen her attack her sister several times.
The boy described an incident in which his mother hit him on the head several times with the phone, causing him to bleed. The girl gave a similar description to gardaí. She said she was taking care of her brothers, even when their mother was at home.
The girl said that her mother assaulted her several times and also described marks of beatings and injuries with a hairdryer and hair straightener. She said that in one incident her mother grabbed her hair and threw her against a wall.
Gardaí also spoke to headteachers of schools where the older children attend. The school said the girl was often absent, and when asked why, she said she had to stay at home to take care of her brothers. The girl came late and sometimes became so tired that she fell asleep on her desk.
The school was also concerned about the girl’s personal hygiene and that her clothes were too short. He informed the woman about this and on one occasion her response was, “Why is she talking nonsense about uniforms again?”
With regard to the boy, the school was also concerned about his personal hygiene and emotional state. He was referred to CAMHS, where it was determined he had complex PTSD. He was also coming to school tired; he said that he had got up at night to feed the child.
The woman was arrested and interviewed in February 2024. She answered questions but yielded nothing in the way of evidence in relation to the offences, the court heard, adding that the woman was very distressed when told of the allegations. The woman has 23 previous minor convictions, mainly for theft and fraud offences.
No victim impact statement was provided to the court. The children continue to live with their grandmother and are doing well, gardaí said. Although there is supervised access, the two older children do not want to see their mother.
The investigating gardaí agreed with Vincent Heneghan SC that it had been noted at a child protection conference in 2023 that the woman had been linked to addiction counselling services. The guard admitted that the woman was using a lot of drugs at the time and had little or partial memory of what had happened.
It was also agreed that the woman experienced domestic violence in her relationship with her late husband and that there was a history of domestic violence in her family. The witness also accepted Mr Heneghan’s suggestion that the woman had her first child when she was 18 and recounted the childhood violence she had experienced on her own children.
The guard agreed that the woman had not recently come to the guards’ attention, that all of her previous convictions were before this offence came to light and that there were signs of someone with addiction problems. Mr Heneghan said his client accepts his responsibility and is embarrassed and remorseful.
He said that although the woman’s addiction played a role in the crime, it was an “additional issue,” and “the real issue appears to be history repeating itself,” indicating that her past behaviours and circumstances are contributing factors to her current situation.
Mr. Heneghan said, “We expect the parents to be nothing but people who will love their children, care for them, and not harm them.” His client loves and cares for her children, he said, adding that the fact that she has harmed them is heartbreaking for her.
He said the woman’s lifestyle was chaotic, but considering the contents of several reports submitted to the court and the negative urinalysis contents from mid-2025, she has taken steps for rehabilitation, such as attending counselling sessions and participating in support groups.
He asked the court to adjourn the case for a probation report and for the defence to liaise with the support services the woman is involved with to see if a plan can be made.
Judge Dara Hayes agreed with the defence’s arguments and asked for any urine tests to be made available to the court. He sent the woman on continuous bail and adjourned the case until May.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour national domestic abuse freephone helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member due to fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer expert and specialist support and advocacy. For more information visit www.aafda.org.uk.
