Children missed school ‘due to trauma caused by brother’s murder’
The boy, who attends a city secondary school, was the first to get to where his brother was shot and picked up his body.
However, the court heard the absenteeism dated from three years prior to the murder.
The father was prosecuted by the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) Education Welfare Act 2000.
While the attendance record of the children was poor since the murder of their brother in 2007, evidence from an NEWB officer indicated that they had been absent for long periods since 2004.
The father of the children said that his younger son had come on the body of the son who was gunned down near the family home and had picked him off the ground. “He did not take counselling and should have taken counselling. He will never forget that night. He is not the same young fellow since and does not want to play football and do anything. ”
He said the tensions in their area which led to the murder were “part and parcel” why his children had been missing school. They had been abused and bullied when going to school.
“Some people were calling them this and calling them that, obviously connected to my son, because they did kill him.”
His daughter who is now in Junior Cert, had missed school as she had suffered from asthma over the past 10 years.
Linda Quinn, an officer with the NEWB, said there had been attendance problems with the children stretching back to 2004 and they decided to defer action because of the tragedy.
Over the past three school years the girl missed 228 days out of 447 and over the past four school years, her younger brother now in first year at secondary school missed 251 out of 663 days.
Judge Tom O’Donnell said those who stood to lose most were the two children.
He adjourned the case to July 9 saying the manner he will deal with it would depend on the attendance record of both children in the meantime.
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