Man bills wife after the mother of all break-ups Man arrested as ‘hit-&-run teen critical’
‘Difficult mum-in-law broke boundaries’ in stay at marital home
Tara Houlihan, 17 A MAN has been arrested in connection with a suspected hit-and-run which has left a teenager critically ill.
The suspect from Greystones handed himself in to gardai in Bray, Co Wicklow, yesterday.
Tara Houlihan, 17, was hit by a car in Kilcoole, Co Wicklow, on Saturday.
She was on her way home from a party at Greystones Sailing Club when she was struck on Main Street.
On behalf of Tara’s parents Greg and Theresa, councillor Tom Fortune, said: “They have asked me to pass on their appreciation for good wishes they have received.
“Tara remains in a critical condition and the next 48 hours are crucial.” Niamh Murray and Ian Johnston A HUSBAND told his wife he would be sending her a bill for the costs of accommodating her “exceptionally difficult” and “disruptive” mother in their marital home.
The man said the 78-year-old broke a number of boundaries while staying with the couple, the family law court in Ennis, Co Clare, heard.
The husband added his mother-in-law came into the marital bedroom in her underwear one Saturday morning when he was having a lie-in with his wife.
She also rearranged his socks, underwear and shirts in his wardrobe and came into the ensuite bathroom when he was drying himself after a shower.
He told the court: “For me, enough was enough. I cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for her [his motherin-law] non-stop. I make her favourite dish, sherry trifle, and she pours the extra bit of sherry in for herself.”
The court heard the marriage between the couple “has irretrievably broken down” due to a financial issue and the presence of the mother-in-law at the home has been a continuing source of tension over recent months.
In the case, the man’s wife was seeking a safety order against her husband but Judge Fiona Lydon said it hasn’t been proven one is required and dismissed the application.
The wife told the court her husband told her: “I can expect from his solicitor a bill for my mother staying in the family house. However, I pay all the bills”.
One flashpoint was last Christmas when the man was watching a Tommy Fleming concert on TV.
He told the court: “I poured myself a glass of wine and at around 11.45pm, the mother just burst through Mum-in-law didn’t
like Tommy Fleming show the door and she was ranting about the television being on. I was highly offended – this woman was a guest in my house.”
The man said he would have “no problem” if his mother-in-law came three or four times a year spending three or four weeks at a time.
He added: “But the thing is she is a guest in my house. She cannot – I’m sorry – she cannot be allowed to raise her voice at me and tell me what I can watch and can’t watch on television.”
The man said because of his mother-in-law’s “sulking behaviour, she is an exceptionally difficult woman”.
The court also heard the man spent €900 on shrubs and plants and the mother-in-law pulled up the ones that didn’t appeal to her and threw them into the bin.
His counsel told the court that the pensioner “has been causing so much trouble and strife and is so disruptive as a guest in a house”.
ENNIS FAMILY COURT YESTERDAY
She burst through and she was ranting about the TV being on HUSBAND