THE brother of murdered Leap mum-of-three, Valerie French Kilroy, recently held a meeting in Brussels with the European Union Commissioner for Justice, Michael McGrath, on pushing reform of the guardianship law (Valerie’s Law).
David French has been campaigning for the progression of this legislation, named after his 41-year-old sister Valerie, who was killed by her husband James Kilroy at their home in Kilbree Lower outside of Westport in county Mayo in 2019.
James Kilroy was sentenced to life imprisonment on July 26th 2024 for Valerie’s murder, but yet remains the legal guardian of his three children, something David and his family are hoping to have that right removed through legislation in memory of their sister.
This week, Social Demorat TD Gary Gannon introduced a Private Members Bill on behalf of the party to implement Valerie’s Law, and had been worked on by Holly Cairns TD, leader of the Social Democrats.
Speaking to The Southern Star, David said that the meeting was facilitated by Sinn Féin MEP for Ireland South Kathleen Funchion, and its focus was to discuss how the situation is handled elsewhere.
‘Our meeting focused on the needs for legal research in the area and for data gathering. Taking Ireland as a baseline, it would indicate that approximately 700 children across the EU are put in this situation every year,’ said David.
‘This is related to The Rights of the Child in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which includes the text: “Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their well-being” and “in all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration.”
David maintains that the courts should have the power to remove or suspend the guardianship rights of a killer, and pointed out that Jade’s Law in England and Wales suspends the guardianship of killer parents.
‘This is included in the current Programme for Government, and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan secured cabinet approval on April 1st on drafting legislation.’
David has set up a website that keeps the public informed on the progression of the legislation; for more details see www.valerie.rip.
