A grandmother who brought her two grandchildren to Ireland will be permitted to keep them here following a Supreme Court decision yesterday.
The children's mother had sought to have the children returned to England, where the mother lives. She is said to be in a violent relationship and to have alcohol and other problems.
Three judges in the Supreme Court upheld a High Court decision refusing the application by the children's mother for their return.
The mother took proceedings against the children's grandmother who, with the grandfather - both Irish - brought the children to this State two years ago.
The mother and her husband married in England and the children had lived there before being taken to Ireland.
The grandparents lived nearby before returning to Ireland.
A social welfare report presented to the High Court said the children's mother and father had a history of alcohol abuse and depression.
The mother and both children had spent long periods with the grandparents, as well as an aunt and her husband, the report added.
The trial judge had noted the acknowledged violent abuse of the mother by the father.
The mother had also encountered violence in a new relationship.
When the grandmother brought the children to Ireland, a letter was sent to the mother informing her where they would be living.
The High Court judge - Ms Justice McGuinness - said it was accepted the mother was unable to care for her children over long periods because of her alcoholism. The father was not a satisfactory alternative carer, she added. The High Court judge accepted that he behaved violently towards his wife and also had severe drinking problems.
The mother's new boyfriend, if he was still part of the relationship, seemed to be an additional risk of violence, the court was told.
Ms Justice McGuinness said there was a risk of physical and psychological harm to the children which could not be met by undertakings, although she accepted the English courts would enforce undertakings.
If the children again came before the English courts, there was still a possibility that they would be returned to Ireland in the custody of their grandmother. They had suffered enough disturbance during their young lives, the judge said.
Upholding that decision at the Supreme Court, Ms Justice Denham said the trial judge had made a determination on the facts.
There had been evidence before the High Court judge which entitled her to conclude there was grave risk in returning the children, she said.
The High Court was entitled to exercise its discretion under Article 13 of the Hague Convention, the court heard.
Dismissing the mother's appeal, Ms Justice Denham said it was entirely appropriate for the trial judge to have interviewed the elder child about the matter.
The method by which she interviewed the child was not inappropriate, she said, nor was it an error of law.
Moreover, she said the trial judge was not in error in relying on the interview with the child.
Under the convention, a child who objected to being returned and who had attained an age and degree of maturity was entitled to have his or her view taken into account, the court heard.
The trial judge had addressed specifically the age and maturity of the child and her views, the judge said.
Consequently, the trial judge was entitled to rely on the child's view. It was appropriate that the trial judge had made it clear that the child's view accorded with other determinations which the judge had made to protect the child's long-term psychology.
The appeal was dismissed.