Woman charged with abandoning baby misses court

A woman facing charges of abandoning her four-month-old daughter outside a pub while the father was drinking inside today failed to turn up in court.

The president of the High Court, Joseph Finnegan, ordered a bench warrant for her arrest at the Circuit Criminal Court.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly abandoned the child outside the Belgard pub in Tallaght, Dublin, on April 26 2003.

She was told by a bouncer that she was not allowed to enter the pub.

She informed him that she knew the father was inside and left her daughter in a baby seat with a bag containing food and nappies.

The women then left in a taxi but was later arrested and charged by gardaí.