A 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty to three counts of child neglect – a court heard how the mother slapped her baby and hit her older children
A mum sobbed as a court heard how she slapped her crying baby son and also neglected her two older children.
The 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty to three counts of child neglect on various dates between 2018 and 2023 in the east of Ireland. The maximum sentence for the offence is seven years imprisonment.
She can’t be named to protect the identities of the two boys and a girl. The youngest boy was under one year old at the time of the offending against him. The older boy was aged between four and eight, while the girl was between seven and nine-years-old at the time.
An investigating garda told Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting, that a referral was received from Tusla (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, social workers also met with the girl, who made some allegations about her mother, Irish Mirror reports.
A multi-agency child protection conference about the three children took place in August 2023. During the meeting, the woman and social workers agreed the children would go to live with her mother. The three children were also listed on the child protection notification system for six months due to the concerns raised.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today that there were concerns about how the woman, who had drug addiction issues, was coping. There had been several deaths in her family in late 2022 and early 2023, including the death by suicide of her husband.
Specialist gardai interviewed the older boy and the girl in September 2023. They separately described seeing their mother slap the baby on more than one occasion, including across the face when he was crying.
The boy said his mother told his sister “If you don’t stop crying, I’m going to put you down beside Daddy” one time when they were visiting their father’s grave. The girl also told gardai about this incident, adding that her mother had also kicked her in the leg.
The boy said his sister was looking after him and the baby, cooking and cleaning. He said their mother was often absent from the home and that he saw her strike his sister a number of times.
The boy described one incident in which his mother hit him on the head several times using a phone, causing him to bleed. The girl gave a similar account to gardai. She said she was looking after her brothers, even when their mother was at home.
The girl said her mother had assaulted her several times, and described being hit with a hairdryer, hair straightener and sustaining bruises. She said her mother grabbed her by the hair and banged her off the wall in one incident.
Gardai also spoke to the principals of the schools attended by the older children. The school said the girl was often absent, and when asked why, she said she had to stay home to mind her brothers. The girl would be late, and sometimes was so tired that she fell asleep at her desk.
The school was also concerned about the girl’s personal hygiene and that her clothes were too small. They notified the woman about this and her response on one occasion was “why the f**k is she on about the uniform again”.
In relation to the boy, the school also had concerns about his personal hygiene and emotional state. He was referred to CAMHS, where it was determined that he had complex PTSD. He was also coming to school tired, saying he had been up at night to feed the baby.
The woman was arrested and interviewed in February 2024. She answered questions, but nothing of evidential value in relation to the offences was obtained, with the court told that the woman was very upset when told about the allegations. The woman has 23 previous minor convictions, primarily for theft and fraud offences.
No victim impact statement was provided to the court. The garda outlined that the children continue to live with their grandmother and are doing well. While there is supervised access, the two older children do not wish to see their mother.
The investigating garda agreed with Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, that it was noted at the child protection conference in 2023 that the woman was engaging with addiction counselling services. The garda accepted that the woman appeared to be using a lot of drugs at the time, and had little or a partial memory of what had happened.
It was also agreed that the woman experienced domestic violence in her relationship with her late husband and there is a history of domestic violence in her family. The witness also accepted Mr Heneghan’s suggestion that the woman had her first child at 18, and that she repeated the violence she experienced as a child on her own children.
The garda agreed that the woman has not come to recent garda attention, that her previous convictions all predate this offending coming to light and are indicative of someone with addiction issues. Mr Heneghan said his client accepts her responsibility, and is ashamed and remorseful.
He submitted that while the woman’s addiction played a part in the offending, it is a “side issue” and “the real issue seems to be history repeating itself”.
“We expect parents to be nothing but people who will love, care and don’t harm their children,” Mr Heneghan said. His client loves and cares for her children, he said, adding that she harmed them, which is heartbreaking for her.
He said the woman had a chaotic lifestyle, but has taken steps to rehabilitate, noting the contents of several reports handed to the court and negative urinalysis from mid-2025.
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 engaged with to see if a plan can be put in place.
Judge Dara Hayes agreed to the defence’s submissions and asked for any urinalysis to be made available to the court. He adjourned the case until May, remanding the woman on continuing bail.
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 through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk.
