Unmarried father wins right to seek return of twin boys

The unmarried father whose two-year-old twin boys were taken out of Ireland without his consent or knowledge is hoping to have them returned to the State by the end of the month.

Mr G brought a successful High Court action against the mother of his two children who took them to England in January.

An order declaring their removal as being unlawful will be made in the High Court here on Friday following yesterday's lengthy ruling in favour of the father.

The order will be made under the terms of the Hague Convention which covers child abduction.

It is then likely to be referred to the High Court in London next week. The court there will determine if the children should be returned to Ireland.

When the case was heard in London in July, it was referred back to the courts here to determine if the children were illegally removed from Ireland.

Given that the Irish courts have now decided that their removal was in breach of the Hague Convention, it is likely that the English courts will make an order that the children be returned immediately to Ireland.

Mr G is unlikely to seek sole custody of his children and is hoping that an arrangement can be made with the mother to share access to the children.

"It is not a question of father versus mother here. He is not seeking to dispossess the mother. He just wants his children brought back here," a source said.

In a 62-page judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Liam McKechnie decreed that the two-year-old boys were habitually resident in Ireland when Mr G took a case in the Trim District Court on March 9th seeking custody rights.

Mr Justice McKechnie said Mr G should have been given "substantial rights" in relation to his children at that stage, and therefore the children's continuing presence in Britain after that date was unlawful.

Mr Justice McKechnie declared that their removal was in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees respect for family life.

Family welfare groups have now called for a change in the law in relation to the status of unmarried fathers who still have no automatic rights to their children despite yesterday's judgment.

The judgment is now being studied by the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's office.

However, a department spokeswoman said yesterday there was no legislation pending or plans to change the status of unmarried fathers.