Judge Grants Gay Couple’s Guardianship Application in Landmark Ruling

A judge in Ennis has approved Ireland's first guardianship application for a child to a gay couple. The order by Judge Patrick Durcan means that Angela Cloke-Hayes is finally an official guardian of the four-year-old daughter she is raising together with her civil partner Marie Cloke-Hayes. Marie gave birth to the child after the couple chose to use a sperm donor at the Galway Fertility Clinic. However, because Angela is a non-biological parent, up until now she did not have the authority, legally speaking, to make decisions about her daughter's welfare. Granting the application in the family law court, Judge Durcan congratulated everyone involved:

“This is the first application of this kind that has become before this court so that makes it a special one for me too." he said. "I wish the three of you all happiness.”

Speaking outside the court, Angela told the Irish Mirror it had been an emotional day:

“For me, it is purely a practical matter. Our daughter now has a legal relationship with me. If she is ever unwell in hospital, I can now be with her. “Also, the other way – if anything ever happened to me, she has access to me in such a situation which is important because she has only ever seen me as a mother. I am her mother in every other aspect.”

It's the start of a year of celebration for the couple, from Kilmurry near Sixmilebridge, who plan to tie the knot next spring after being in a civil partnership for four years. In the meantime the Cloke-Hayes family are toasting a landmark success that has laid the foundations for many other families in Ireland to get the recognition they need in the future. Photo credit: Irish Mirror