A woman employed as a childminder in 1999 by Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan-Burton and her husband Don Burton denied at 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 child minder for the couple's son Taylor from May 1999 until Ms Fahy had left the couple's emplyment 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.
Today 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 certain personal items which she claims were damaged or are missing.
The couple have strongly denied the claims and have alleged 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 £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 mis-description of her role and that Eileen O'Riordan had been the primary child minder 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. She did not mean any disrespect to Eileen nor had she any intention of undermining her.
Mr Shipsey said that, so far as Ms Fahy characterised the behaviour of Don Burton, she wanted to give the court the impression that he drank continuously. Ms Fahy said the word "continously" was not correct. She added she did not recall Dolores drinking during the US visit.
Counsel said that from June 5th to June 28th, 1999 Ms Fahy had been in the Burtons' home in Kilmallock and she wanted to convey the impression that Don Burton was drinking heavily; that Dolores was behaving irrationally and that on three occasions Dolores asked that the child be kept awake. Ms Fahy said that was correct.
Mr Shipsey said Ms Fahy had given
the impression that from June 28th to July 2nd when she was in Canada it was three or four days of misery, stress, rows, drinking,
endangerment of the child, fireworks going off and loud music. Ms Fahy said that was what happened.
Counsel said the purpose of that evidence was to demonstrate that the Burtons were unfit parents; that they were negligent with their child, abusive towards Ms Fahy and that in all the circumstances Ms Fahy had been justified in the actions she took, particularly her return to Ireland on July 2nd.
Ms Fahy said she did not decide to return but was told to leave and she did not call the parents "unfit".
Mr Shipsey said Ms Fahy had made a serious allegation against the child's mother in relation to the mother giving instructions to wake up the child so that the mother would not be inconvenienced by being woken up in the mornings. Ms Fahy said that was what happened.
If what she had stated was untrue, it would be a most serious and damaging allegation against parents, Ms Fahy agreed.
She said she had told the truth.
Counsel put to her that a date she had given for an alleged incident where Mr Burton, with an intoxicating drink in his hand, had gone on a jet-ski with his 18-month son could not be correct as the defendants were not in Canada at that time.
Ms Fahy said she must have made a mistake on the date but denied that no such incident had occurred. A baby on a jet ski with a father was not something one would forget about, she said. "It did happen," she added.
Counsel put it that the second most serious allegation against Mr Burton involved Dolores asking that the child be given a bath so that Don could have a lie-in in the morning. Ms Fahy said that did happen.
Dealing with Ms Fahy's claim that Mr Burton had taken her passport on one occasion, Mr Shipsey said the evidence of Mr Burton would be that, as manager of the Cranberries and the household,
he took care of the tickets and passports of people travelling with him. Ms Fahy said she was not comfortable with anyone having possession of her passport. It was not always returned to her when she needed it.
Counsel said there were some very serious allegations about the defendants in Ms Fahy's diary. Ms Fahy agreed there were references in the diary to a sick donkey and an arena but not to the incident of Mr Burton taking the child on the jet ski. She said she did not need to write "something of severity" in a diary.
The case resumes before Mr Justcie Quirke on Tuesday.