Woman found out she was a grandmother when children arrived with DNA tests

The grandmother, who was seeking access visits with her granddaughter, told the Dublin District Family Court that up until last summer she was under the impressed that the girl in question was her nephew’s daughter.

But then last summer, the young girl and her brother turned up at the grandmother’s door, with results from a DNA test, showing that the grandmother’s son was father of the young girl.

The grandmother said she was “shocked” to learn she had a granddaughter.

The grandmother said she wants to see her granddaughter, although her son has no interest in doing so. But she said the girl’s mother has refused to let her see the girl.

The mother told Judge Ann Ryan she sent her son and daughter round to the grandmother’s house with the test results last summer, as the grandmother did not believe her son was the father.

The mother said she was happy to let the grandmother see the girl – but was upset because the grandmother ignored the girl for months, after visiting with her twice after the revelation.

The mother said she had not received a request from the grandmother to see her daughter since December. She said she texted the grandmother photos of the girl in March, in her St Patrick’s Day costume, but the grandmother texted back: “I’ve enough going on. I’ll get in touch with you.”

“She was going through a bad patch with her son,” the mother said. “My problem is, she blanked [my daughter] because she was going through a rough patch with her son.

“If she wants to sort this out, why can she not just knock on the door? Why does she have to bring me to court?”

The mother added that she also went through a bad patch with her daughter’s father, who is now in prison.

With the consent of both parties, Judge Ryan granted regular weekly visits to the grandmother with her granddaughter.