Irish father fights for American son

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CAHIR O'DOHERTY,

Irish Voice

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A father's fear: Irish father Donough Lawlor and his son Liam

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A CO. Limerick native awarded full custody of his son by a Bronx court in 2007 is dismayed to find the boy’s Irish American mother, who fled with the child twice in the past, has successfully won the right to contact the boy by telephone twice a week in the U.S.

Donough Lawlor, 38, who lives in Ridgefield, Queens, told the Irish Voice that although he has a standing order of protection against his estranged ex-wife Kathleen Brigit McAuliffe, 36, she may pursue every option available to her to reconnect with Liam Jack Lawlor, 5, the son she has lost custody of.

Lawlor, an electrician by trade who now has boxes of files relating to his son’s case, was dismayed when on October 19 Judge Ira Globerman of the Bronx Supreme Court decided to grant McAuliffe the right to telephone Liam twice a week for 15 minutes. How, Lawlor wonders, can a parent who has lost legal custody of a child still be permitted to call that child twice a week, throwing the boy into continuing turmoil?

Two days after he wrote this decision, Lawlor says, the judge retired.

“If this was a good woman who could handle a child and would care for a child in a stable manner, do you think I would be disputing it?” Lawlor told the Irish Voice.

“It would be great. But I have seen first hand her violence, anger, and her behavior across the board, and I cannot accept this ruling. Any person listening to my ex-wife’s conversations with Liam would say that this person is not right in the head.”

The unexpected ruling by Judge Globerman, coupled with the fact that McAuliffe has to date twice abducted the boy, makes Lawlor worry. The expense of mounting legal defenses is a significant drain on his income, his well-being and his time. But as he sees it, he’s being left with little option but to pursue his rights though the courts.

“I’m standing behind full prosecution as a victim now,” Lawlor says. “I will press charges against my ex-wife for abduction. I will stand up in a court of law and say my son was abducted twice, this is what was inflicted on my son, and I suffered years of emotional upset and anguish as a result of this.

“I suffered the expense and the loss of time, too. These are years that can never be brought back between my son and I. So I’m closing the door on this one. I want it done and finished.”

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