Court Rules in Favor of Mother for Pre-Communion Custody in Parental Dispute

 A long-standing custody disagreement between estranged parents culminated in a court ruling this week concerning arrangements for their daughter's First Holy Communion. The case was brought before Judge Gabbett, who described the situation as a deeply human matter that warranted sensitivity and balance.

The dispute centered on which parent would have the child the night before the ceremony. In delivering his decision, Judge Gabbett ruled that the girl would spend Friday night with her mother, enabling her to begin her Communion day in her mother’s care.

“At a very basic level, at a very human level, this is mother and daughter stuff,” said Judge Gabbett. “This is the girl’s First Holy Communion morning, and little girls should be with their mothers.”

The judge praised the plan put forward by solicitor Anne Walsh, representing the mother, calling it “extraordinarily sensible” and “one of the most reasonable proposals I have received in a long time to deal with a very acrimonious situation.”

According to Ms. Walsh, the proposal had been discussed with the daughter. It involved the girl staying at her mother’s home the night before the Communion, attending a pre-booked hairdressing appointment together on Saturday morning, and then spending the remainder of the day with her father. A mother–daughter outing was planned for Sunday before the child returned to her father that evening.

However, solicitor Mairead Doyle, representing the father, contested the arrangement, stating that the girl had expressed a wish to spend the night before the ceremony with her siblings. Ms. Doyle further criticized the mother’s approach as rigid and said the child was “caught in the middle” of the parents’ conflict.

Ms. Walsh countered that the mother had initiated contact on April 2 to agree on arrangements following a discussion with the child, but had not received a response from the father’s side until May 14—just days before the