Show Notes
41-year-old mother of three, Valerie French, was brutally murdered by her husband, James Kilroy, at their family home in Westport, Co. Mayo, in 2019. Kilroy was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2024. Since Valerie’s murder, her brother David French has campaigned tirelessly for changes to guardianship legislation in horrific cases such as this, to ensure those who kill their partner cannot automatically retain guardianship rights over their children. In this episode of Fianna Fáil: In Our Own Words, David discusses the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill and the importance of ensuring the welfare and best interests of children remain paramount. He speaks to Senator Dee Ryan and Seanad Justice spokesperson Robbie Gallagher about Valerie, her life, the relationship, her murder and why he advocated for this change in the law. The Bill, which has been introduced to the Dáil, would allow for the removal of guardianship rights from a person convicted of killing their partner or the other parent of their child. Speaking in the Dáil, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said: “When you have a human story behind a piece of legislation, or when somebody is prepared to advocate from a very personal point of view, it can have a very significant impact on the Houses of the Oireachtas.” The legislation fulfils the Programme for Government commitment to examine proposals to remove guardianship rights from those convicted of killing their partner or a parent of their child, as part of ongoing work to implement recommendations from the Study on Familicide and Domestic and Family Violence Death Reviews.
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