01/08/2026
Published Letter to the Editor of the Irish Mail on Sunday 09/11/2025
: The Unseen Crisis - Protecting Our Children from Parental Alienation
The collapse of a marriage is painful enough, but what happens when the separation isn't about two adults moving on, but about one parent waging a war for a child's heart?
I'm writing about a growing crisis in Irish family life, one that has a clinical name, Parental Alienation (PA), a form of emotional torture for children, parents, grandparents and wider family who suddenly find themselves cut off from their loved ones.
If you’ve ever watched a friend suddenly become a ghost to their own children, or seen a child who once adored their father or mother now cut off from them for no justified reason , you have witnessed PA. It occurs when one parent systematically cooerces a child into rejecting their other parent, in an attempt to "make a clean break" without realising the damage this_does to the child .
The child starts to repeat stories that don't sound like their own, refusing to attend birthdays or holidays, and casting their previously loving parent as " bad" or even " _evil"._This isn't a child expressing a preference; its a child being forced to choose and causes them profound emotional damage._
The victims are not just the rejected parents, but the children themselves. They are robbed of one half of their identity and suffer long-term psychological damage, often struggling to form healthy attachments later in life.
It's time the Irish State stopped turning a blind eye. This abuse demands decisive political and legal action. We urge the Government to enact four vital reforms to protect Irish children and uphold their right to both parents:
Formal recognition of Parental Alienation in Irish law to acknowledge its devastating impact.
Inclusion of PA in Coercive Control legislation, defining this psychological manipulation as the abuse it is.
Reform of the in-camera rule to allow for necessary transparency and accountability in family proceedings.
Adoption of a 50/50 presumptive custody model to structurally uphold a child’s right to both parents.
If this silent devastation resonates with your own experience or what you’ve witnessed in your community, your voice is essential. Please share your story with the Editor, and contact your local TD today to demand these specific changes.
Please note
The Irish Government have undertaken considerable work with 6 recommendations on Parental Alienation and Family Justice law reform but they did not engage the Victims of Parental Alienation directly (nor since) and they do not include the above measures. There are no specific incisive actions to address Parental Alienation and are too broad to stop this awful form of abuse.
