The High Court has allowed a mother to relocate her two children from Dublin to Town Z in the United Kingdom, concluding that the move best serves their welfare. The court heard the father’s full appeal of a Circuit Court decision that had permitted the relocation, and upheld that decision while changing part of the financial provision concerning the family home.
The children, identified in the judgment as A and B, were born in the UK in 2016 and 2018. Their parents lived in Town Z for about ten years before moving to Ireland in October 2018. They later bought a family home in Dublin. By the time of the appeal, the parents were living separately under the same roof.
The mother said she had been reluctant to move to Ireland and understood from discussions with the father that a return to the UK was possible if the move did not work out. The father initially denied giving that assurance, but acknowledged that returning to the UK had been discussed. The judge accepted the mother’s account as more credible.
The court considered the children’s expressed wishes not to move, their settled lives, schooling and friendships in Dublin, and their close relationships with both parents and extended families. It also noted the mother’s stronger family and friendship network in Town Z, the family’s long connection to the area, and the children’s ability to maintain meaningful contact with their father after a move. The judge said their views were important but not decisive and concluded that they would adapt to relocation.
The judgment upheld the divorce decree and joint custody, with primary day-to-day care to the mother. It granted her liberty to relocate with the children and ordered extensive access for the father under a detailed schedule that is redacted in the judgment. The relocation date is blank in the published text.
The court also ordered monthly child maintenance of €250 per child, shared medical and dental expenses, and arrangements for the children’s Irish and UK passports. The mother is to receive any child benefit in England; the father is to maintain VHI cover for the children when they are in Ireland.
On the jointly owned family home, the court said the mother’s interest required more meaningful recognition than the Circuit Court had provided. It ordered her to transfer her interest to the father in return for a payment, but the amount is blank in the published text. If the payment is not made and the father does not remove her from the mortgage within 12 months, the home is to be sold and the net proceeds divided equally.
The court made no order as to costs. It said the relocation case had been delayed in the Circuit Court and that such applications should receive priority.