Evelyn Page #8

-Thank you.

Thank you, Evelyn. You may step down.

The great day has finally arrived.

The day Desmond Doyle and his kids,

and indeed the whole of lreland...

has been waiting for.

The day when Desmond finds out,

once and for all...

whether he will get his kids back.

Sister, why couldn't me and the boys

go to court today?

Because they don't want a repeat

of the scenes they had last time.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin has just

appeared in his official limousine...

and a beautiful car it is, too.

l would remind you, however,

that never before...

has a law been found repugnant

to the lrish Constitution...

and that has to happen today,

if Desmond Doyle is to win.

l now call on Justice Ferris

to deliver his judgment.

l am persuaded by Mr. Wolfe's argument

on behalf of the Minister for Education...

that the term ''parent''...

in Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution...

must be held to imply both parents.

There is no contradiction

between those Articles...

and Section 10 of the Children's Act...

and said Act

is not repugnant to the Constitution.

l, therefore, find in favor of the defendant,

the Minister for Education.

l'll strangle that ferret one day.

lt's 1-0 to the Minister, with 2 votes to go.

The next Judge, Justice Daley,

must vote for Desmond...

or it's all over for the Doyles.

Don't despair, my child. Have faith.

...or there'll be rioting going on.

l agree with Mr. Wolfe...

that the Minister for Education has,

at all times...

acted in a reasonable

and conscientious manner...

within the provisions of the Children's Act.

l also agree with my learned

and honorable friend, Justice Ferris...

that there is no precedent for declaring...

an lrish Statute

repugnant to the Constitution...

-Please God, grant us a ''however.''

-...and therefore invalid.

However, despite the absence

of precedent...

l find Mr. Barron's argument persuasive.

ln any event, with respect to

my learned friend, Mr. Ferris...

it is the duty of the Supreme Court...

not only to follow precedent...

but to set it.

On the grounds submitted...

that the Children's Act 1941, Section 10...

contravenes a parent's fundamental,

God-given right...

to the society of his children...

and is therefore repugnant

to the Constitution...

l find in favor of the plaintiff,

Desmond Doyle.

Marvelous! Children,

don't you stop praying now.

...the Supreme Court. Now it all rests on the

shoulders of Justice Lynch, a Kerry man.

The tension in here is almost unbearable.

I can't think of anything like it, since

Tom Connolly's last-second penalty goal...

that won Ireland the Triple Crown,

30 years ago.

And amazingly...

Connolly is now part

of Desmond Doyle's team.

l have been impressed

by Desmond Doyle's diligence...

and determination in rebuilding

his financial and domestic circumstances...

in the wake of

his wife's unfortunate desertion.

l have noted, too,

the obvious bonds of love and affection...

between Doyle and his daughter, Evelyn...

who made a deep impression on me,

and l'm sure, on all of us...

-in the witness stand.

-Please, no. Don't give us a ''however.''

However, we are officers of the law...

and must not be guided by sentiment.

Though Mr. Barron

made a moving and powerful plea...

on behalf of his client...

a stirring appeal to the heart...

we, as law officers, must determine cases

with the head, not the heart.

Tom, have we lost?

l agree with my learned friend,

Justice Ferris...

-Yes, unless he says another ''however.''

-...that it is regrettable...

that no precedent has been cited

in support of Mr. Doyle's case.

However...

though no precedent can be found

in lrish law...

we can argue

from an analogous English case.

ln the Crown versus Clark, 1891 ...

the principle of a parent's inalienable right

to his or her children...

was enshrined in common law.

However...

...the parent's right...

could, as common law,

be overridden by statute.

-However...

-Yes, dear God.

...unlike the English...

we lrish have a written Constitution...

so that, in the words

of Evelyn Doyle's prayer:

''truth and justice may flourish.''

l find it unarguably true,

as Mr. Barron contends...

a parent has

an inalienable and God-given right...

to the society of his children.

l therefore find

in favor of the plaintiff, Mr. Doyle.

We did it!

Desmond Doyle has won!

Glory be to God!

-Praise be to God!

-Sister, we've won.

Darling child, don't you forget me.

l won't, Sister. l love you.

You'll be needing

a housekeeper now, won't you?

Love and glory, boys!

Legal history has been made.

Evelyn's won. We can all go home soon!

Daddy!

Oh, my love. Good to see you.

Let me see you.

You look gorgeous.

Don't worry, Heidi. l didn't forget you.

Let's connect these two together now.

Some tea, too?

Children, come and sit down, turkey's ready.

Evelyn, Maurice, Dermot,

come and sit down, everybody.

-l am starving.

-Okay, crackers. Get a cracker, lads.

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