Man at centre of family-law dispute ordered to limit his contact with young son to 'cards and presents'

A judge has ruled that a prisoner's contact with his five-year-old son should be limited, for now, to sending birthday cards and Christmas cards and associated presents

The 49-year old man is currently on remand in custody awaiting trial at Ennis Circuit Court for false imprisonment and assault causing harm to his partner - the mother of the couple's child - at her home on September 3, last.

During the incident it is alleged that the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, tied the woman's hands with cable ties behind her back in a downstairs bedroom.

It is further alleged the couple’s young son was upstairs during the course of what Sgt Louis Moloney said in court, in September, was a ‘horrifying ordeal” for the mother.

Now, during the granting of a Safety Order and limited access order at the Family Law Court, the man told Judge Alec Gabbett: "I can’t stress how much I regret what happened that night.”

Concerning access to his son, the man said: "I don’t get to see my son?”.

His solicitor, Shiofra Hassett said her client is hoping for more contact than simply twice a year. She said her client was very involved in his son’s life and that contact was not limited to weekends.

Addressing the man, Judge Gabbett said: "Until the trial process is over, it would be in your interest to keep contact to a minimum."

He said that sending a birthday card and Christmas card "is a lovely thing to do” adding: "Communication within those cards and presents would absolutely be kept to a minimum. You can say to your son ‘Happy Christmas, love Dad’ - that type of thing but nothing else is to be transmitted.”

Judge Gabbett said that he was making the preliminary access order now and that in a year’s time, "it would be appropriate to bring an access application but now it is probably not”.

The judge granted the access order as he approved a five year Safety Order which was sought by the alleged injured party in the case against the man. The alleged injured party was also in court for the granting of the Safety Order.

Solicitor for the woman, William Cahir said that his client was opposed to the granting of any access to the man of their son.

Ms Hassett said that her client was not opposing the Safety Order application. The man has been refused bail in the district court and the High Court ahead of his case coming before Ennis Circuit Court later this year. 

Judge Gabbett said that the cards and presents are not to be sent directly from prison and be instead sent through a third party.

Mr Cahir said that the son received sketches from his father at Christmas and that his client viewed the material as “threatening and intimidatory”.

The solicitor handed the sketches into court and Judge Gabbett remarked: "He is quite the artist isn’t he? The man is using his time in prison well.”

The man said that he does the sketches as part of therapy while in prison. Ms Hassett said that her client didn’t send the sketches to his son.

She said that her client sent the sketches to a family relative and it was another relative who forwarded the sketches to the man’s son as part of a Christmas present.