A Clare mother of seven has walked free from court after she pleaded guilty to the neglect of one of her daughters.
The offences were carried out over a five-year period, and started when the girl was aged five – she is now in care.
Garda Donna Egan outlined to Ennis District Court how the 37-year-old mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter's identity, had rubbed dog faeces on the face of her young daughter and pushed her down a stairs during a five year period of neglect.
In another incident, Garda Egan said the girl recalled how her mother had thrown a mug at her, striking her on the head.
None of the incidents required medical treatment, and Garda Egan described the case as ‘heartbreaking’.
The woman pleaded guilty to the neglect of her daughter in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering to the child’s health and affect her well-being between February 23rd 2005 and June 30th 2010.
The court heard that it was she who had come forward in 2012 to reveal the extent of the neglect and that she had co-operated with Gardaí.
Judge Patrick Durcan had the option of imposing a 12 month sentence, but instead said he would go along with the reccomendations of a very thorough Probation Report.
The woman was placed on a Probation Bond for 12 months on condition that she co-operate fully with the Probation Service, the Child and Family Agency and any other agency.