Court told of mother forcing sons to swallow washing-up liquid

Two young boys have told a jury their mother forced them to swallow washing-up liquid, while one claimed she pushed him down the stairs twice and then lied to hospital staff about his injuries.

The 39-year-old mother, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of eight of her children, has pleaded not guilty at her trial before Galway Circuit Criminal Court to 44 charges of child cruelty between 2006 and 2011, contrary to section 246 (1) and (2) of the Children Act 2001.

All eight children were taken into care in May 2011 and have been placed with different foster parents ever since.

The trial, which started on Tuesday has already heard evidence from the woman’s two eldest daughters, now aged 19 and 16 respectively.

The younger expressed deep sadness on Wednesday at being suddenly taken from her siblings.

The jury heard evidence that she had effectively reared her two toddler and baby siblings until she was taken into care, aged 11, while her mother frequently went out socialising and might not return home for days on end.

When asked during cross-examination on Friday by Paul Flannery SC, defending, if she ever missed her mother, the girl replied: “Yes and no. I miss her but I can’t forgive her for the stuff she has done. It has taken its toll on me and on my brothers and sisters and it’s time to leave it go now.

“The last time I saw my mother, she was going out the door for a night out. I said to her, ‘love you mum’. That was it,” said the girl.

Video link

Three of the woman’s sons, now aged 15, 13 and 10, gave evidence by video link to the trial also on Friday.

A taped Garda interview of the eldest boy, which was recorded in April, 2012, was shown to the jury. In it, he said his mother had pushed him down the stairs on two occasions. He thought he was eight or nine at the time.

He said he was on the top step on the first occasion and she came behind him and pushed him. He tumbled down the stairs, went across the floor at the bottom and hit his head off a door.

“I hurt my head. She just laughed at me,” he said.

On the second occasion, the boy said he was three steps from the top when she pushed him. He hurt his wrist on the occasion. Again she laughed at him, he said.

He also recalled an incident when his mother threw him and his younger brother out of the car because they spilled milkshakes in the back. He claimed their mother drove the car at them and tried to run them over.

They managed to climb on to a gate to avoid being hit, he said.

He also said his mother regularly beat him with a wooden back-scratcher and he had scars on his back.

His 10-year-old brother started to cry while giving his evidence when he recalled how his mother would make him and some of his siblings line up and them slap them.

She would then get them to open their mouths and if they refused to open their mouths, she would choke them until they did. She would then pour washing up liquid down their throats and make them swallow it, he said.

“She would hit you too in the back, the legs or the stomach. I haven’t seen her in two years,” the boy said.

The trial continues.