Parents of school-shy girl threatened with jail

A judge yesterday told the parents of a 14-year-old school-shy girl to bring her their overnight bags to court on Friday as he threatened both of them with imprisonment.

At Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan told the pair, “I am deadly serious” when instructing them to bring overnight bags with them to court on Friday.

Addressing the girl’s mother in court, Judge Durcan said: “Unless your daughter is at school tomorrow — and today — she will pay the penalty by not having parents on Friday.”