The Circuit Family Court has dismissed a mother’s appeal and affirmed an order asking the courts of England and Wales to assume jurisdiction over care proceedings concerning her daughter, born in Dublin in September 2024.
The court’s 30 July 2025 decision does not transfer the child or determine where she will live. It starts a process in which the courts of England and Wales will decide whether to accept jurisdiction in the child’s best interests and, if they do, whether to order her return.
The appeal concerned a District Court decision of 14 March 2025. That court made an Article 8 request under the Hague Child Protection Convention. On appeal, the Circuit Family Court heard evidence from the mother and the child’s social worker, as well as submissions from the parties.
The mother opposed transfer. She told the court she had experienced trauma during earlier proceedings in England concerning her first child, and feared that a transfer could lead to her daughter being uprooted or adopted. She described mental-health and other supports she was accessing in Ireland, said she wanted to remain there, and sought increased contact with her daughter. She also disputed aspects of records and assessments from England, including reported diagnoses and allegations about her past conduct.
The Child and Family Agency and the child’s guardian ad litem supported the request. The agency’s social worker said key assessments, records and professionals familiar with the family’s history were in England, and could not be compelled to give evidence in Ireland. The agency also pointed to the child’s sibling and relatives in England and possible future family contact. These were submissions and evidence considered by the court, not findings that any particular placement or contact will occur.
The judge accepted that the child may have acquired habitual residence in Ireland, but made no definitive finding on that issue. The court found that the child had dual Irish and UK nationality and a substantial connection to England, including through her parents, sibling and the mother’s residence there before August 2024.
The court concluded that the English and Welsh courts were better placed to assess the child’s best interests, citing access to evidence and witnesses about the mother’s earlier proceedings and history. It found the jurisdiction transfer would provide genuine and specific added value and would not itself be detrimental to the child. The judge said the child’s attachment to her Irish foster carers and mother had been considered, but that a transfer of the case did not mean a transfer of the child.
The appeal was dismissed. The District Court order was affirmed, subject to any variation needed to clarify the request to the courts of England and Wales.