Roscommon Woman + Incest/Neglect Case

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Smashbox

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I live in County Roscommon, and its come to light that a woman was let abuse her children in pretty awful ways.

There was incest, abuse, beatings, lack of food, clothing and sanitary conditions, and the kids weren't even toilet trained.

How could people not know this was going on? I mean, the mother was a lone parent from what I can grasp. But surely friends, family and neighbours would have to have their suspicions.

It had been going on for six years. did the kids go to school? If so, surely someone would have noticed ie. a teacher.

If they didn't, then surely someone again should have noticed!

They say she suffered various conditions, such as asthma, depression and epilepsy. This is no excuse! I have two out of three of those conditions and wouldnt dream of doing anything of this sort.

She just got sentanced to 7 years, the maximum term for a WOMAN in an incest case. This is crazy stuff!

Read more here : http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0122/roscommon.html
 
it was just sickening. No effort and, worst still, acts of depravity.

Just shows you the spectrum, some people stressing about the "rights and wrongs" of having kids, others have 6 and do that to them.

its hard to imagine it, a bit like people who kill babies by multiple injuries (at least 1 case in the UK lately, and wasnt there one in Dublin a year or 2 ago).

too depressing to dwell on.
 
7 Years !!?? Whereas a man can get Life imprisonment....gender equality at work there huh ?

That case is sickening and the Injunction that was obtained to prevent the HSE placing the children into care (because 'support' was what they needed, not intervention :mad:) with the help of a catholic organisation (!) was ridiculous.

The Judge who granted the Injunction should have that decision re-examined.
 
Sickening story alright. Makes me angry.

From Indo, the kids were going to school and getting bullied for being smelly and dirty.
 
How could the teachers not sense that something was happening? If they were at school, as Birroc stated, its no wonder they were singled out. Headlice, smelly, dirty and not toilet trained? I just don't know how this could have happened.

And the law! 7 years is crazy. A man would indeed have got life. These laws from far back need to be looked at and changed right away.
 
Pique318 said:
7 Years !!?? Whereas a man can get Life imprisonment....gender equality at work there huh ?
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In fairness the problem here is outdated legislation , not a gender issue, after all in the context of the time (1908 I heard on the radio) when the law was written gender equality didn't really exist. The blame here, in terms of the possible sentence, rests with whoever (not sure which department exactly) is responsible for amending outdated legislation.
And like everyone else it makes me sick to my stomach to think that people like this woman exist.
 
Smashbox said:
How could the teachers not sense that something was happening? If they were at school, as Birroc stated, its no wonder they were singled out. Headlice, smelly, dirty and not toilet trained? I just don't know how this could have happened.
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who said the teachers, other people and HSE social workers did not know that there was wilful neglect here? - a social worker called twice a week but the children said nothing and so were ok? - thats just not good enough.
What sort of support was given? it shows unfortunately that Irish government services cannot or will not protect innocent children, not in Roscommon, not in Wexford and on the streets of cities and towns where mothers shoot up next to their childrens buggies in broad daylight. The "thats not my job" response is simply not good enough. Maybe the US answer to adopting children of those type of parents (where there are no suitable or willing family members) is a bit too far but it certainly would have been a better life that what they have now.
 
Was the social worker blind? Did he/she have a sense of smell? Or did the 'right-wing catholic group' intimidate him/her? Were the teachers blind? Did they not have olfactory facilities ie NOSTRILS? Most publicans know the history of their heavy drinkers .......... enough said! Lots of people have got to be culpable here. It is the most distressing story of this type that I have heard. Reporting this to the relevant authority is not busybody stuff ........ it is a human requirement. Not doing so makes one complicit.
 
I can understand people being upset by and angry about these events.

But before passing judgement on what you see as the failures of others, you should ask yourself if you actually know that every child in your locality or sphere of acquaintance is safe. Is that dirty smelly child just a typical member of a dirty smelly family, or is he an abused child?
 
I think you would look into it further if you knew of someone, myself certainly. I would rather have a quiet word in someones ear to get things moving than to not say anything.

Reporting a parent whom you believe to be abusing their child/children, and it turns out isn't, is still an obligation.

Not reporting a parent because you don't want to have the bother, is inexcusable.

This wasn't just a smelly child. They lived in a rat infested house. Would have obviously shown signs of violence, as the mother beat them. They were underfed so obviously undernourished. They weren't toilet trained.

This isn't just the run of a mill household where a parent doesnt wash their child every day. These signs would have been there for a long time. And surely someone would have known that she left these children alone to go drinking at night.
 
Padraigb said:
I can understand people being upset by and angry about these events.

But before passing judgement on what you see as the failures of others, you should ask yourself if you actually know that every child in your locality or sphere of acquaintance is safe. Is that dirty smelly child just a typical member of a dirty smelly family, or is he an abused child?
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Sure but your point is an asside. But by being dirty and smelly he is unwashed and in my view a level of neglect is present. Soap and water and a bit of care is cheap.
we pay professionally trained people to see behind these doors. They either do see it and do nothing or can't, either way these professionals are not good enough IMO.

Also who was the "right wing catholic group" who paid her legal fees and why is it a secret?
 
Just because a child says they're ok, that doesnt mean that he/she is!

I can't believe it was going on for so long too... what'll happen to those kids now?
 
It seems there's alot more to come out about this, on the radio they made constant mention of the legal proceedings which are still ongoing in relation to the case so perhaps many people in the community did notice and speak up at the time.
 
Ciaraella said:
It seems there's alot more to come out about this, on the radio they made constant mention of the legal proceedings which are still ongoing in relation to the case so perhaps many people in the community did notice and speak up at the time.
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i honestly hope that is the case
 
I wonder if we'll ever find out the area she came from? I'd love to know where her neighbours/family/friends were at the time. How can you just forget a family of six kids?
 
This case made me sick to my stomach ... at the failure of our society to put children at the centre of our constitution.

I am angry that this was allowed to happen. I am angry that in this day and age that there are children that can fall through the cracks.

I am angry that there are sections of our society that are marginalised to such an extent that nobody wants to know ... the further from centre they go, the less people want to know.

I think we need to ask ourselves how can we ensure this never happens again ... when are we as a society going to realise that it's not just the parents of children that have a responsibilty ... it's the whole community that owe it to them to put the childrens rights first.
 
Padraigb said:
I can understand people being upset by and angry about these events.

But before passing judgement on what you see as the failures of others, you should ask yourself if you actually know that every child in your locality or sphere of acquaintance is safe. Is that dirty smelly child just a typical member of a dirty smelly family, or is he an abused child?
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The very fact that the child is dirty/smelly is neglect in itself. Neglect is abuse. Bad things happen when good people stay silent.
 
pennypitstop said:
Sure but your point is an asside. But by being dirty and smelly he is unwashed and in my view a level of neglect is present. Soap and water and a bit of care is cheap.
we pay professionally trained people to see behind these doors. They either do see it and do nothing or can't, either way these professionals are not good enough IMO.

Also who was the "right wing catholic group" who paid her legal fees and why is it a secret?
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Couldn't agree more with you. Had a situation several years ago when in desperation I rang our local health board and demanded to speak to the Medical Officer to discuss the constant recurring head lice situation in the local school. Eventually I spoke to a public health nurse as the doctor refused to take my call. On pointing out to her my concerns re the infestation , I got , in my opinion , the politically correct response that some children had different situations that should be treated with caution. I was demanding that the public health team visit the school in question as in my opinion , children with head lice whose parents fail to treat them , are not only a source of infestation to others but possibly should themselves be viewed as children who are being neglected and this sign of neglect can be the first indication of more serious issues.

Talk about having to listen to unadulterated psychobabble. I then said that I personally had vast experience in the area and if the public health team weren't interested in listening to me , maybe they would be interested in hearing my concerns on Joe Duffy.

End of story: Inspection of school and serious campaign mounted.

Forget a lot of the political correctness. If a parent whether single or married, black or white, citizen or immigrant , in this day and age , doesn't wash their child and have clean clothes for school , there is neglect. There is no excuse for this and I have seen too much so called family support for useless morons who in an ideal world would never have a pet not to mind a child.
The family whilst wonderful when it works is the most dangerous place on earth for so many of our children and frankly it is very hard to imagine how total separation from their natural families for so many brutalised children would not be a better option. And you can be sure of this , the system of social care that delayed so much with these poor children will insist that they keep contact with this excuse of a mother.
 
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