Father in New York did not consent to removal of child to Ireland

The applicant, a United States citizen, the father of the child ("N") the subject matter of these proceedings, seeks the return of his son to New York pursuant to the provisions of the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980 (the ‘Hague Convention’) and the provisions of the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act, 1991 - the respondent, who is the mother of the child and an Irish citizen, has been in Ireland with the child since the 19th/20th December, 2015 - at the time of the hearing before the Court, the child was three years old - child was born in November 2013 in New York - among the key issues in the case were whether the father gave his consent to the mother’s departure with the child to Ireland for an indefinite period as distinct from a period of short duration, and, if not, whether he subsequently consented or acquiesced in the child’s retention in the jurisdiction indefinitely if and when it became clear that it was the mother’s intention to so retain the child in Ireland - wide degree of factual dispute between parties - Court regarded the general credibility of the applicant with some scepticism - dispute over whether father owned a firearm - on the 4th of July, 2016, a notice of family law civil bill was issued by the respondent mother in the Circuit Court and affidavits of means and welfare were sworn by her - mother left New York with N., on the 19th December, 2016 - on the 22nd August, 2016, the applicant completed an application to the U.S. Central Authority for the return of the child - father was exercising custody rights - the burden of proof falls upon the respondent mother, pursuant to Article 13, to prove on the balance of probabilities that the father either consented or acquiesced at the time of the child’s departure to Ireland to his staying there indefinitely with his mother, or subsequently so consented or acquiesced - Court did not think there was a firm decision to stay in Ireland permanently in early January 2016 - not established to the requisite standard of proof that the father consented on the 3rd January, 2016, to the child staying indefinitely in Ireland - period of some 8 months which elapsed before the father gave a clear indication of his non-consent to the child’s retention in Ireland - Court of the view that the mother has not discharged the legal burden of proving that the father consented or acquiesced to the retention of the child in Ireland within the meaning of Article 13 of the Convention - child was wrongfully retained in Ireland, within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention - child ordered to be returned to New York - stay to allow father give undertaking not to press charges against the mother in New York.