An Irish brother and sister who are married and are expecting their second child have decided to emigrate due to the lack of support in Ireland.
The couple only discovered they were siblings after the birth of their first child when they were in a serious relationship.
The brother and sister told a TV3 pro gramme in Ireland that initially the news they shared the same father shattered their world, but they have since leaned to deal with it.
The couple met in a nightclub several years ago while they were both out with friends. They both come from different Irish towns about 100 miles apart.
The pair who use the false names, Maura and James, were married recently at a civil ceremony in Dublin at which their shared biological father was present.
The expectant parents say the understand why people are being critical of them for putting a second child's life at risk.
Their first child suffers from several medical conditions but Maura says that although the second pregnancy was not planned, she has no regrets about it.
"It is my situation and I will deal with it," she said."
"Deep down I know it is wrong -- it is always at the back of my mind, but I try to deal with it as best I can.
"People who are not in this situation would not really understand it."
Maura and James admitted that if they hadn't become parents, they would probably would have abandoned their relationship once they learned the truth.
A big concern now is how their children will deal with the revelation that their parents are siblings. The said that they sought the help of a child psychiatrist , but were not offered any support.
"We would very much like to talk to somebody about this, but we got the impression that as soon as the psychiatric services discovered who we were the shutters came down," said James. This, he added, is the primary reasons the couple plan to emigrate.
James maintains that coming from the same gene pool resulted in an intense attachment.
"Genetic attraction played a big role.
"When I look back now I realize we had these types of feelings that you just don't experience with anybody else," he explained.
"The intensity is so much greater; you can't stop thinking about that person -- it becomes like an addiction.
"We knew it was wrong and that we should walk away, but I just couldn't do it," he said.
Despite this, James said he would not recommend their type of relationship to anyone.
The couple spoke on TV3's Ireland AM program on Thursday, during which their identities remained concealed.
Concluding they said they want a fresh start and plan to emigrate soon.
13 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.caillmaire | Dec 30, 2012, 04:15 PM EST
I wonder why they went public. Mather would have been better off if they had kept quiet and then emigrated.
MissSusie | May 14, 2012, 01:14 AM EDT
Doubt this happens alot. However, I would definitely move if I were them.
billie061 | May 11, 2012, 05:36 AM EDT
They DID not know they were related until after the birth of their 1st child, Yolande yes incest is taboo if the couple had been aware of it, they weren't. I have often thought of this occurring particularly of the under-hand action of the religous order in the 40's and 50's before adoption was made legal in Ireland. I am sure there are more couples in this situation due to this practice.
Saviour | Aug 10, 2011, 11:53 PM EDT
They don't av to emigrate or relocate. There is absolutely no evil or insanity in that kinda marriage. Wat they need is accurate knowlegde of God's word, which i wil be sharing wit u all in a moment. It is also natural to marry one's sibling or relative and stay healthy forever. After all there are many people in the world today who never engaged them in dis so-called abominable act and yet suffer all kind of ailments n diseases. So it's not right to attribute any of those as diseases as d consequences of intermarriage (marriage within d family) it is written no where in d scriptures. Besides abraham's marriage wasn't a mistake, bcos isaac also married within (cousin), likewise jacob (nieces). And they were the richest in their days. Strong n healthy they all were. Has God instructed us to leave our family and be joined to our spouse? Nooo! Gen2:24, matt10:4/5, mark19:5, eph5:31 says " for this reason a man shal leave his father n mother (not family or groups of family) and be joined to (av sex wit) his wife (not wives-married wman not man), n the 2 shal bcome 1 (not 3 or more) 3 is a crowd! God does want us to giv room for rivalry. I'm from nigeria where act lik dis is severely criticiized. But i never mind d critics. God's word gives me d boldness to face n scold anyone who dares oppose us. I married my cousin knowingly. I went to her pparents n asked her hand in marriage which ofcos they rejected initially, but then i wudn't leave her, i encouraged her n persuaded to marry me which she did. The parents n families had no choice than to let us be. They understand, we had to make a choice, n we simply chose ourselves. We fell in love wit each other wen we were very much aware of d fact dat we ar relativs. We chose to dominate our cicumstances. And also chose to change d society, rather than let the society changes us.
aoibhinn | Jul 14, 2011, 08:58 PM EDT
This is a backwards Westermarck effect isn't it? There are several cases of Mothers/sons etc. who are attracted to each other before they know they are related. There does seem to be something to it.
WoundedKnee | Nov 28, 2010, 10:07 AM EST
To judge by the stupidity that is sweeping Ireland in the past year or two, perhaps there are more cases like the above than we had realized.
jacersagain | Nov 27, 2010, 09:07 PM EST
An old grand-aunt of mine had neighbours living across the road from her in an isolated part of Canada. They were married Catholic cousins. They had nine children, seven of whom were born blind and two deaf. I never heard any more about them. I guess the God Almighty message is that, well you know... you should not 'cos it's not the way of God's plan.
jamieLM | Nov 26, 2010, 07:33 PM EST
Why did they go public with their story???? They should have kept quiet if they didn't want criticism. There have been documented cases in U.S. medical journals of full siblings who married and had children before they discovered their biological connection. Luckily, all of the children were healthy, mentally and physically. Then there are those awful cases of fathers impregnating their own daughters. Incestuous relationships are taboo for good reasons - genetic, religious, and emotional factors, -to name just a few. I'm not in favor of 1st cousin marriages but in some states they're legal, unlike sibling marriages which are not legal anywhere.
kickstar | Nov 26, 2010, 07:15 PM EST
I certainly have a lot of sympathy for these two after all it was not ultimately their fault but that of their father. and the filthy hush hush of the Church riddled society that kept secret the information about adopted children that they had handled etc. and the ridicule the mother would have been subject too had it been known that she was pregnant out of wedlock, Those days have gone the way of public processions....Thank God.
Monsoonman | Nov 26, 2010, 06:28 PM EST
If you look at the royals you can see what incestuousness does....Anyway the couple could move here to the USA(legally of course) and settle in Arkansas, bill clintons home state. Marriage between close relatives is legal.
Yolande | Nov 26, 2010, 03:51 PM EST
The taboo against incest is universal. I doubt they will find a welcome anywhere else. What utter selfishness to marry and add another child to the mix. Love may be blind but in this case it's deaf and dumb, as well. They do, indeed, require the help of a psychiatist, but not for the children.....for themselves. I do feel sorry for the kids. They certainly didn't ask to be products of an incestuous relationship between siblings. God help them all.
seamusmoore | Nov 26, 2010, 02:39 PM EST
I was in Carlow back in 2003 and talked with a woman who sadly predicted the inevitability of a situation like this occurring. She said that the prevalence of out of wedlock births(over 40%) could lead to relations intermarrying because the only way to avoid that happening is to know who your relations actually are.
WoundedKnee | Nov 26, 2010, 12:52 PM EST
The Central Park Zoo sounds like an appropriate place for them to head for.