Daughter and mother used to be ‘best of friends’, court hears
The breakdown of a mother-daughter relationship resulted in a court case yesterday where the mother changed the locks on her door and the daughter set up temporary accommodation outside the house.
The mother said at in camera hearing of Cork District Court that she was now in fear of her daughter every time she walked out her front door.
The adult daughter said the complainant had nothing to fear from her and that they had been best of friends before this occurred.
Defence solicitor Diane Hallahan argued that the case should have been dismissed because the strongest part of the complaint was the mother’s feeling that “I imagine she [her daughter] will say something”.
Garda Mary-Jane Somers, who investigated the case, testified that the complainant was in fear when she made the complaint.
The defendant said: “She is not in fear. Me and my mam were the best of friends.”
She said she put the temporary accommodation outside her mother’s home because her mother changed the locks and this left her with nowhere to stay.
The complainant said her daughter could live a lot of different places, including with her father , but that she (the complainant) had no place else to live.
Judge Mary Cashin said the defendant should move her temporary dwelling away from her mother’s property.
Judge Cashin said the manner in which the temporary dwelling was set up was not acceptable.
“It is not acceptable. It is a form of intimidation,” she said. “That was enough to put your mother in fear.”
The judge found her guilty of breaching the safety order by putting her mother in fear.
However, Judge Cashin adjourned sentencing for three months for the defendant to move and live somewhere else. The judge said she would try to leave her without a conviction but that she would have to move.
She said it was very sad to see mother and daughter in court in a case like this.
Judge Cashin said that, in fairness to both parties, they had been very honest in their evidence.
