Grandmother denied access to child after seeking stop to social media posts

A grandmother was denied access to her grandchild after she rang the child’s mother asking her to stop posting material on social media about her son, a court has heard.

The child's mother was before Dublin District Family Court on Tuesday for breaching the access order.

A court order, in place since 2017, required the paternal grandmother get access to the child for a number of hours every Saturday.

However, access ceased a number of weeks ago after the child’s grandmother rang the child’s mother asking her to stop posting about her son on social media.

The child’s mother admitted she had posted abusive material on social media about the child’s father and referencing time he had spent in prison.

She said the child’s grandmother rang her, giving her “abuse” on the phone and access subsequently ceased.

‘No dealings’

Judge Bernadette Owens told the child's mother there was an access order in place that she had to comply with.

The child’s mother initially said she would not comply with the order.

“I went through enough with her son, I’m not going through that with her,” she said.

“I don’t want nothing to do with this woman . . . no dealings with her. I don’t want her near me or my home,” she added.

The child’s grandmother told the court she rang the woman telling her to “stop putting stuff on social media” about her son when she found out about it.

The child’s grandmother said apart from this she didn’t want to speak to the child’s mother.

“I actually don’t talk to her,” she said. “I ring the bell [during access visits] and wait in the car. I’ve no contact with her.”

She also told the court she had wanted to bring her grandchild on holidays to which the child’s mother responded “You haven’t got a hope.”

The judge told the child’s mother that the grandmother had a right to access. She asked the child’s grandmother to give a sworn undertaking to have no contact with the child’s mother which she agreed to.

The child’s mother also asked that none of the grandmother’s other grandchildren be there during access visits which the grandmother agreed to.

The child’s mother then gave an undertaking that she would again comply with the access order.

The judge struck out the case given that both women had given sworn undertakings and access is due to recommence.

Court order

In a separate case, a man told the court he had not had access to his children for a number of months. The father, who was only present in court, claimed that the children’s mother had previously suffered from addiction problems.

A court order, in place since February, required the father to get access to the children for two evenings a week. The man said there has been “no access and no contact” and when he tried to visit the family home the woman drove off in the car with the children.

The man said he also wanted to vary the access to weekends in the future so he could take the children fishing and on day trips.

The judge varied the access order and adjourned the case until July. She told the man she would be directing a penal warning that the children’s mother “has to be here on that occasion”.