Brother of murdered Cork woman welcomes move to remove killer's guardianship rights

 Valerie French Kilroy was strangled and stabbed to death.

The brother of murdered Cork woman Valerie French Kilroy says the focus on preserving the family unit has been taken “to an absolutely fundamentalist degree” in the case of his sister’s children.

David French’s 41-year-old sister was killed by her husband James Kilroy in Westport, Co Mayo, in 2019. Kilroy was found guilty of the west Cork native’s murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last year.

However, despite a murder conviction, the killer retains his guardianship rights over their children, ensuring he has a right to know where they live and to be involved in major decisions affecting their lives.

Mr French has campaigned for changes to the law around guardianship in cases where parents kill their children’s other parent, with the government bringing forward the General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill, 2025 earlier this year.

The bill would would see guardianship rights removed from anyone convicted of killing their partner or parent of their child.

It would allow an application to be brought to the District Court to remove guardianship rights from the perpetrator. This application should be sought within six months, with the court then ordering a guardian to be appointed for the child.

Legislation report

The Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has now published a report on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the legislation, which will now be considered by the government before the final legislation is drafted.

In welcoming the report, Mr French: “In our case we've seen this focus on preserving the family taken to an absolutely fundamentalist degree where even the crime of murder cannot be seen as comprehensively dissolving the ‘family’ and the father's ‘rights’ are actively preserved and protected.” 

He said he particularly welcomes the recommendation by the committee’s report that the bereaved family in a case is made a notice party to any court case in relation to guardianship.

He said: “I have spent thousands becoming a notice party to my nephews' case and been in Court twice (District and Circuit) against Tusla and Kilroy to get it.” 

Women’s Aid says there are key factors in the report which would make a big difference to families affected by familicide, including what it terms a good and strong emphasis on the best interest of the child and the voice of the child.

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It also welcomed the consideration being given to enabling an interim order, which would temporarily remove guardianship immediately upon conviction, until the full order application is resolved.

And the organisation said: “It’s incumbent on us all, including legislators and policymakers, to look at the absolutely devastating fallout of a domestic homicide and who is left behind to pick up the pieces. So many families are left split apart, struggling with the trauma, and they should not have to face additional legal burdens when they are trying to support children to pick up their lives.”