The woman employed as a childminder in 1999 by Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan-Burton and her husband Don Burton denied in the High Court yesterday that the purpose of her evidence was to show the couple were unfit parents.
Ms Joy Fahy also rejected a suggestion that Ms O'Riordan's mother, Eileen, was the primary childminder for the couple's son, Taylor, from May 1999 until Ms Fahy had left the couple's employment in July 1999. Ms Fahy said she and Eileen O'Riordan had dual care of the child.
Under cross-examination by Mr Bill Shipsey SC, for the couple, Ms Fahy rejected suggestions that her diary to which she referred in evidence was proving "woefully unhelpful or inaccurate". She said it was very helpful to her. She said she got dates mixed up and was not very good on dates.
Yesterday was the second day of Ms Fahy's action against Ms O'Riordan-Burton and her husband. Ms Fahy (34), of Batterstown, Co Meath, is alleging breach of contract and false imprisonment arising from her time working with the couple as a childminder for a period in 1999. She is also seeking compensation for personal items which she claims were damaged or are missing.
The couple have strongly denied the claims and have said Ms Fahy "walked out" on them. The court has heard there was no written contract relating to Ms Fahy's employment but she alleges there was a verbal contract on termination of which she was to receive IR£10,000.
She has also claimed she was to receive a Cherokee jeep.
Yesterday, Mr Shipsey questioned Ms Fahy at length about entries in her diary relating to events and dates relating to times spent with the defendants in the US, Canada and Ireland.
Counsel put it that Ms Fahy had given a gross misdescription of her role and that Eileen O'Riordan had been the primary childminder from May 1999 until the time Ms Fahy decided to leave on July 1st, 1999. Ms Fahy said that Eileen was with her and they were all together all the time, so it was dual care of the child.
Also yesterday Ms Fahy rejected a claim that she had wrongly received almost €3,000 in social welfare payments. In cross-examination it was suggested to Ms Fahy she was being coy with the court about the time of her employment with Ms Elle McPherson, a former Australian model, in 2003 because there was a witness in court from the Department of Social Welfare there and Ms Fahy knew that.
Asked how she was paid by Ms McPherson, Ms Fahy said it was suggested she might be paid through being given some of Ms McPherson's designer underwear.
Ms Fahy agreed she had made a claim for unemployment benefit in 2003 but said that was not for long because she wanted to claim tax back for maybe two or three months. She was unemployed when she signed on, she said.
Asked if she made a claim which she was not entitled to because she was in the UK, Ms Fahy said: "No". When she went to sign on, she was forward and back with Ms McPherson. The money automatically went into her account and a mistake had been made, she said. She rejected a suggestion by Mr Shipsey that she might have signed on for six months. There was very little paid into her account, possibly €100, she said. There was a mistake and she had met with an accountant regarding it. Mr Shipsey put to her the amount in question was €3,000 and that she was "caught". Ms Fahy said that was "untrue".
Mr Shipsey also said Ms Fahy's claim that Don Burton had been on a jet-ski on June 28th with his son could not be correct as they had arrived in Canada on June 28th and had stayed in Toronto.
They had driven to the house at Buckfort on June 29th. Ms Fahy insisted the incident of Mr Burton on a ski with a beer and the baby did happen.
Mr Shipsey handed Ms Fahy a photograph of a person in a costume of "La La", one of the Telly Tubbies. Ms Fahy agreed she was that person. Mr Shipsey said the picture did not seem to reflect the "war zone" portrayed by Ms Fahy in relation to her employment with the defendants.
Ms Fahy said Dolores had also worn the costume. She said she had many good moments with the child. The hearing continues.