Test shows I’m not the father, court told

DNA tests in a long-running paternity row have shown a man is not the father of the one-year-old girl at the centre of the dispute.

The mother in the case had issued proceedings against her former partner seeking financial contributions towards the girl’s upbringing. But at the Family Law Court in Ennis, Co. Clare, yesterday, a solicitor for the man said the suspicions of his client had been proven correct with genetic tests showing he is not the baby’s father.

Although the man had initially believed himself to be the child’s father – and even sought access and guardianship rights – in December, he questioned the paternity of the little girl. The woman claimed that the man was the baby’s father. The man, denying paternity, decided to fund a DNA test after direction from the court.

At a previous court hearing into the paternity issue, Judge Patrick Durcan had directed that the gardaí investigate claims of forgery of paternity documentation in the row between the Co. Clare mother and her former partner.

This followed Stiofán Fitzpatrick, the solicitor representing the man, stating that the mother had shown the man results from a previous home-kit DNA test taken in January. Those test results had shown that the chances of him being the father of the baby girl were 99.999999%.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that it was his client’s view that this was a false document.

Solicitor Ann Walsh, representing the woman, said that it was her client’s view that no paternity test was carried out in January. Ms Walsh’s client claimed to have received from her ex-boyfriend a document that purported to be from Ormond Quay Paternity Services which stated that the man was the father of the child.

Ms Walsh told the court previously: ‘My client said that she never did a paternity test and doesn’t understand where this document came from.’

Ms Walsh said that her client has an older child where the paternity was an issue and a test was carried out by Ormond Quay Paternity Services. As a result of Judge Durcan’s direction that the gardaí get involved, Garda Shane O’Connor met with the mother and her former partner and took statements from each. Garda O’Connor had also sought the original DNA test ‘results’ and it was his intention to send the documentation to a handwriting expert at Garda HQ at the Phoenix Park.

At yesterday’s hearing, Mr Fitzpatrick reminded Judge Durcan of asking the gardaí to investigate. The judge recalled: ‘I was very shocked when I heard what I heard. The matter is dead now as far as this court is concerned.’

Ms Walsh said it had only been in December last that the man questioned the paternity of the child.

Yesterday, she said that all applications, access, guardianship and maintenance could be struck out. Judge Durcan struck them out.