Desmond Doyle

Desmond Doyle (1924–1986) was an Irish painter and professional pianist, whose children (Evelyn, Maurice, Noel, John, Kevin, and Dermot) were taken into the custody of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) when his wife, Charlotte abandoned him and her children on Boxing day in 1953.

For the South African ballet dancer, see Desmond Doyle (dancer).

Emigration and return

After placing the children in what he believed to be a temporary situation, Doyle left for work in England. While there, he met Jessie Powers née Cunningham, who was his landlady and who later accompanied him back to Ireland .

Campaign to return children to him

Upon his return to his homeland in the autumn of 1954, Doyle petitioned for the return of his children. Nevertheless, the government denied his request, citing the best interests of the children. He subsequently fought a legal battle to regain custody of them, which required overturning the provisions of the Irish Children Act, 1941. This law prevented a father from caring for his own children in the absence of their mother if she was living unless she gave written permission for him to do so. Doyle became involved in a case presented before the Irish Supreme Court in which it was claimed that the Children's Act contravened several sections of the Irish Constitution. In December 1955, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Desmond Doyle, and ordered that the children be returned to him and that his court costs were to be reimbursed by the government.

Written accounts

The events leading up to the Supreme Court's decision were recounted in the book Evelyn: A True Story. The story was also published as Tea and Green Ribbons: A Memoir (2003, Free Press, New York). Her sequel describing the Doyles' life and Evelyn's life after the Supreme Court decision was published as Nothing Green: The Sequel to the Bestselling "Evelyn" (2004, Orion Publishing Group, London).[1]

Film based on events

A highly fictionalised account of these events has been recorded in the film Evelyn (2002), starring Pierce Brosnan (who plays Desmond), Julianna Margulies, Sophie Vavasseur, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and Alan Bates and directed by Bruce Beresford. The film only showed three children, Evelyn and two brothers (Maurice and Dermot), instead of all six of the real-life family's children, and involved no period in England or Jessie Powers.

References
  1. Evelyn: A True Story, by Evelyn Doyle (2003, Orion Publishing Group, London).
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