ABC for Justice@AllianceBirth
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐮𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 “𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬
Debbie McCann reports in today’s Mail on Sunday that former Garda Margaret Loftus has joined a campaign calling for sweeping reform of Ireland’s family law system, warning that it is failing victims of domestic abuse and, in some cases, turning allegations of violence against the very women who raise them.
Loftus says her own experience of DV and her encounters with the family court system have convinced her the system is deeply flawed. The mother of four says she now wants to advocate for women who cannot speak publicly because of the in camera rule, which prevents reporting of family court proceedings.
She argues that the secrecy surrounding family courts means domestic abuse is often not properly acknowledged or examined. Instead, women who raise concerns about abuse can find themselves accused of damaging the relationship between a child and their father.
According to Loftus, allegations of DV are sometimes reframed as “parental alienation”, a controversial concept in which one parent is accused of manipulating a child to turn against the other. She says this accusation can be used to discredit mothers who raise concerns about violence or coercive behaviour.
In 2012 she was brutally assaulted by her then husband, fellow Garda Trevor Bolger, in front of their young children while the couple were living in Mayo. Both were serving members of An Garda Síochána at the time. Bolger was convicted earlier this year of assault after more serious charges, including threats to kill and coercive control, were dropped as part of a plea agreement. Loftus said the plea deal was devastating and reinforced her belief that systems intended to protect victims can fail them.
She claims she experienced intimidation and retaliation within the Guards after reporting the assault. Loftus left the force in 2022 and says she now feels freer to speak publicly about what she believes are systemic failures affecting victims of domestic violence.
Loftus says many women have contacted her with similar experiences in the family courts. Several told her that raising concerns about abuse resulted in them being portrayed as hostile or manipulative parents rather than as victims seeking protection.
She has now joined the Irish Family Law Reform campaign, founded by barrister Lisa Ann Wilkinson, which is calling for major changes to the family court system. The group argues that family courts must prioritise safety, truth and justice and ensure survivors of abuse are not further harmed by the legal process.
A key criticism raised by Loftus is the lack of transparency and coordination between criminal and family courts. She says perpetrators can deny wrongdoing in family proceedings while pleading guilty to offences in criminal court, allowing them to present themselves as credible parents in family law hearings.
She also argues that family court decisions can be made without sufficient evidence or fact finding. Unlike in the UK, where courts may hold fact finding hearings in cases involving allegations of domestic violence, she says Ireland often lacks a structured process for establishing the facts before decisions about custody or access are made.
Loftus says the secrecy of family courts means the public has little understanding of how the system operates. She compares this lack of transparency to past scandals such as the mother and baby homes, warning that public outrage would follow if more people understood what happens in family court proceedings.
