Three women secure barring orders against adult sons

A mother has secured a barring order against her adult son who threatened to kill her when she refused to allow his drug addict friend to stay in her home, Dublin District Family Court has heard.

She was among three women granted barring orders against their adult sons in separate cases before the court on Friday.

One woman said her son, who is in his 20s, is a drug addict and that she was last month granted an interim barring order against him, which lasted eight working days.

In a sworn statement to the court, the woman said her son wanted one of his friends, who is also a drug addict, to stay at her home but she refused. She said her son “lost it and flipped” as a result.

“He came into my room. He lunged at me twice. I thought he was going to hit me. He threatened to smash my house up and cave my face in and threatened to kill me and spat at me,” she said. “I locked myself in the bedroom and called the gardaí.”

The woman’s son was not present in court for the hearing.

Judge Gerard Furlong granted the woman a barring order for one year, banning her son from the family home, from any further violence or threats of violence, and from watching or being near the home.

Judge Furlong also included a recommendation within the order that the man receive drug addiction treatment and counselling.

‘Off his head’

Separately, a woman told the court she had a one-year barring order against her son three years ago “after he tried to run me off the road”.

The woman said this week her son got into an argument with his girlfriend, who subsequently came to stay at her home with her children.

In a sworn statement to the court, the woman said her son came to her home and smashed a glass door and that he was “off his head on tablets”.

“He came to my house again this morning and threatened to smash all the windows,” she said.

The woman said her son has been going through a hard time and recently he relapsed back on to drugs.

“He’s gone back to taking tablets and when he takes tablets it’s like he’s not my child, I don’t know who he is,” she said.

The woman said she was afraid she would be evicted from her home, even though her son does not live there and she does not cause “any trouble”.

The woman’s son was not present in court. Judge Furlong granted an interim barring order on an ex-parte (one side only) basis and set a full hearing, which the woman’s son is expected to attend, later this month.

Kicked in door

In a separate case, a woman told the court her son, who does not live with her, kicked her front door and her car last month.

“He left me voice messages saying he hopes I die,” the woman said in a sworn statement.

The woman said her son “smokes a lot of weed”.

“He says he doesn’t have a problem and won’t take help,” she said.

The woman got an interim barring order against her son last month and said this was the first time she had got a court order against him.

Judge Furlong granted the woman a barring order for one year and also included a recommendation within the order that the young man seek help for his drug problems.