This morning’s Irish tabloids featured numerous front-page stories regarding the ongoing lawsuit between former childsitter Joy Faye and Dolores O’Riordan-Burton. The tabloid reports contain many of the more saucy details that national outlets like RTE tactfully omitted. Below are some text versions of articles that appeared today. You can check out some great scans over in the Magazines Gallery that include some very nice color photos of Dolores and Don walking to the High Court in Dublin. Thanks to Des for sending in the scans!
The Mirror
March 26, 2004, Friday
Eire Edition; NEWS; Pg. 4,5
DOLORES HUSBAND TOOK MY PASSPORT .. I WAS SO FRIGHTENED I LOCKED MYSELF IN MY ROOM; NANNY TELLS COURT OF DRINK-FUELLED OUTBURSTS
DECLAN FAHY
DENIAL; Dolores O’Riordan and Donald Burton at court yesterday; FLED IN FEAR; Joy Fahy claims breach of contract
CRANBERRIES rock star Dolores O’Riordan’s husband falsely imprisoned their nanny, a court heard yesterday.
Joy Fahy, 34, claimed she locked herself in her bedroom as she fled in fear from the singer’s Canadian partner Donald Burton.
He roared at her in a drink-fuelled rage after she disagreed with the way the couple’s child Taylor was being treated in Canada in 1999, the court was told.
Ms Fahy is suing the couple for false imprisonment and breach of contract.
She wants EUR12,500, a Cherokee Jeep and a deposit for an apartment because she claims they reneged on an agreement they had.
Among the allegations she outlined to the High Court yesterday were: – CRANBERRIES tour manager Burton refused to return her passport
– SHE barricaded herself in her bedroom in fear of Burton who had been drinking
BURTON was persistently drunk in the afternoons and evenings, and – HE took the couple’s child on a jet ski without a lifejacket.
Ms Fahy travelled to Canada in June 1999 with the couple where she claimed they stayed in an isolated building eight miles from the nearest village.
She claimed the row with O’Riordan and Burton started after she was told to live in the house without a car, which had no food, only an out-of-date tin of pasta.
Ms Fahy told O’Riordan she was unhappy with the situation and the way their baby was being treated.
The nanny, who also worked for U2’s Larry Mullen, said: ” O’Riordan went ballistic. She was screaming and crying.
“She said, ‘My mum is against me, everyone is against me. I’ll do what’s right for my child’.”
Soon after Burton, who had been drinking with friends, came upstairs and challenged Ms Fahy.
She claimed: “He began to shout. There was a lot of cursing.
“He had been drinking. His face was red, his eyes were bloodshot, he clenched his fists.
“He said ‘I decide to hire here. I decide who to fire. You don’t get it’.”
“He said, ‘My wife is Bono, not Larry. You are going home. You are f**king fired. Nobody likes you. You have a problem getting on with people’.”
Ms Fahy alleged she was in her room at this stage and Burton told her: “You’ll get your passport when it suits me.”
She then claimed to have locked herself in her bedroom and put her suitcase against the door.
Ms Fahy’s lawyer said: “She became afraid and distressed and Burton continued to be aggressive and abusive.
“She locked herself in a room in the house and several hours later her passport was returned.”
Ms Fahy, who now works as a nanny for another celebrity, said: ” Burton cooked me breakfast and left it outside my door the next morning. I found it more disturbing that he had done that.”
O’Riordan and Burton, who live at Riverfield Stud in Kilmallock, Co Limerick, strongly deny the claims.
Ms Fahy, of Moyleggan in Co Meath, said she had no bad words to say about O’Riordan’s mother Eileen and that her daughter’s behaviour had been exemplary.
The court heard that when she flew home from Canada to Ireland on July 2, 1999, she cried all the way home.
Ms Fahy has also asked the court for an order to have her personal belongings, which she alleges have been kept by the couple, handed back to her.
She claims to have had a verbal agreement with the couple to employ her in 1999 as a full-time childminder.
Ms Fahy said she was to be paid IREUR500 (pounds 630) a week plus pounds 40 a day expenses when she was travelling with them.
She also said she was to get a new Cherokee Jeep and that they would provide her with facilities for her horse at their stud farm along with accommodation.
Ms Fahy claimed she was o ered the job because her work as a nanny to the children of other celebrities had been commended and she started work on June 1, 1999.
But she alleged problems began straight away.
She had to buy her own meals, had no mobile phone and claimed Burton took her passport and tried to get her to drink.
The court heard he became infuriated when she refused and he was constantly drinking in the afternoons and evenings. Mr Bill Shipsey SC, for O’Riordan and Burton, said they disputed the alleged terms of the contract under which Ms Fahy was employed.
They would be contending she had decided to leave her employment and had let the defendants down.
It would be the defence case that Ms Fahy “walked out”.
Ms Fahy’s lawyer Mr Richard Keane SC, said she was a maternity nurse who had been involved in looking after children from an early age.
The court heard she had worked for some famous people in the rock music industry.
Mr Keane said O’Riordan and Burton had asked her to come and work for them at a time she was involved with another high profile family in Dublin and was much in demand by celebrities because of her reputation.
He added she was approached by Burton in June 1997 and her experience of working for him then was very unsatisfactory.
As a result she terminated her employment and returned to Ireland to resume employment with another high profile employer in 1998.
On February 27, 1998, Ms Fahy was contacted by Burton again to look after their baby.
The court heard she thought it was a bit of a joke after what had happened before and refused.
Mr Keane said Burton promised her the “sun, moon and the stars” and o ered her a new BMW. Ms Fahy replied she would like a jeep.
He added Burton had asked her what she was being paid and had said no matter what it was, he would beat it.
On March 12, 1998, Ms Fahy was in New York when she received four phone calls from Burton and she alleged he was drunk.
Mr Keane told the court his client felt very vulnerable when dealing with Burton and he had tried to lure her from her employment.
He claimed that on March 22, 1998, Burton again called Ms Fahy and o ered her a new Jeep, pounds 500, a 50-hour working week and pounds 40 per day while on tour. Burton also o ered to pay the insurance and tax on the vehicle.
He told Ms Fahy O’Riordan was about to embark on a world tour.
Ms Fahy decided the o er was too good to reject but was concerned because of what had occurred previously and decided to get safeguards built in to the deal.
She claimed that if the contract was terminated, she was to receive a pounds 10,000 (EUR13,000) lump sum, a new Jeep and a deposit for the rent of a house or apartment.
The case continues today.
The Irish Times
March 26, 2004
Singer’s husband was aggressive, says ex-nanny By MARY CAROLAN
A woman who worked as a childminder for the Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan-Burton and her husband, Donald Burton, has brought High Court proceedings against the couple.
Ms Joy Fahy, who previously also worked as a childminder for U2 drummer Larry Mullen, is suing the Burtons, who live at Riverfield Stud, Kilmallock, Co Limerick, claiming breach of contract and false imprisonment arising from her employment with the couple as childminder for their son from June 1999.
Ms Fahy said she had worked with the couple previously in 1997 but left because problems arose. She later agreed to return to work for them in June 1999 after being o ered the “sun, moon and stars” by Mr Burton.
However, she claims, problems arose from the start of her employment in June 1999, including problems while the couple were touring Canada and the US. She claims she barricaded herself in a bedroom on one occasion because of Mr Burton’s aggressive behaviour, and further alleges he was perpetually drunk in the afternoons and evenings.
Ms Fahy (34) of Moyleggan, Batterstown, Co Meath, is seeking an order that personal belongings including designer clothing such as Dolce & Gabbana jackets, which she alleges have been retained by the Burtons, be returned to her. She is also looking for payment of IR£ 10,000 (E12,700), which she says was agreed in the event of termination of her verbal contract, and an order requiring the Burtons to provide her with a Cherokee jeep and a deposit for an apartment.
Mr Bill Shipsey SC, for the defendants, said they were vehemently disputing the alleged terms of the contract under which Ms Fahy was employed. They would be contending that Ms Fahy had let the defendants down and “walked out” on them.
Ms Fahy alleges she was to be paid IR£ 500 (E635) weekly plus IR£ 40 (E50) per day in expenses when she was travelling with the Burtons. She also claims she was to be provided with a new Cherokee jeep, facilities for her horse at the couple’s stud and accommodation near their home.
Mr Richard Keane SC, for Ms Fahy, told the High Court there was no criticism of the O’Riordan family, and Ms Fahy had received great support from Ms Eileen O’Riordan, the singer’s mother.
Singer’s husband was aggressive, says ex-nanny: page 4
During a trip to Canada in 1999 with Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan and her husband Don Burton, Mr Burton’s behaviour deteriorated, he seemed to be drinking daily and was quite aggressive, the couple’s former childminder told the High Court in Dublin.
Ms Joy Fahy said they were accompanied to Canada by Dolores’s mother, Ms Eileen O’Riordan, and stayed in a house in a remote area by a lake.
Ms Fahy said Mr Burton drank at all times of the day with friends, played loud music and played with his “toys”. The couple brought their child with them on quad-cycles and jet-skis, which was not safe or normal, she added.
The former childminder has taken a High Court action against the couple alleging breach of contract and false imprisonment.
Mr Burton would say absurd things, Ms Fahy said. On one occasion, when she and he had a row, he kept screeching, “You don’t get it. My wife is Bono. She is not Larry.”
She said the baby’s sleeping arrangements became a big issue and on one occasion Dolores handed her the sleeping child and asked that it be given a warm bath. Ms Fahy said she was unhappy about doing this and the child became upset and wanted to go back to sleep. Dolores was upset and said the child would be up early the next morning.
Ms Fahy said she was worried that this was not a normal thing to do and told Ms Eileen O’Riordan, who said, “Don’t tell me she is doing that again.”
Ms Fahy said she complained about being left on her own with the child in a remote area. She had been told that the Burtons and Eileen O’Riordan would be returning to Ireland.
At one stage Dolores went “ballistic” and started to screech that “Mother is against me. Everybody is against me.” She said she knew what was best for her baby and took it from the pram and ran towards the lake. Mr Burton, who had been downstairs drinking with friends, came up and got aggressive, she said. He said, “You are going home. You’re f***ing fired and you know jack-shit about horses.”
He told her he hired and fired and they (Dolores and he) decided whether she could go or stay. He added that she (Ms Fahy) had a problem getting on with people and from the start had “this haughty attitude”. She said he told her she was fired, and would get her passport when he felt she should.
Ms Fahy said she locked herself in her bedroom by putting a suitcase to the door. Eileen O’Riordan came and asked how she was, and said not to come downstairs because Mr Burton was very angry. Later, when he had calmed down, he came to her room and threw her passport across the room.
When Ms Fahy came back to Ireland with Eileen O’Riordan, she learned she was not to be allowed into the house at Kilmallock. It took three weeks to get her belongings in refuse sacks.
Earlier, she said she worked with the couple first in 1997.
When in Canada with them, the first few days were okay but there was never any structure to the day and she did not know when she was o or on. It was strange and they were in an isolated house which was not well equipped for a new baby. She was in a very dark and small bedroom.
During a trip to New York, Mr Burton told her she could go home to Ireland as she was not needed. She was upset. All her belongings were in Canada and she had only gone to New York on vacation. She had no money and no mobile phone. She had sold her car and given up her apartment. She arrived back in Ireland with nothing, and stayed with friends. She had not been paid and had no money. Eventually a friend brought home her belongings from Canada.
After about a month, money was lodged to her bank account in Ireland. She was later approached by the family of Anne Acheson (wife of U2 star Larry Mullen) and started work with them in 1998. That was a fantastic job and the family and children were fantastic.
In February 1999, she got a call from Mr Burton asking her to work for him again. Ms Fahy said she did not entertain the idea. He later o ered her perks, such as a lump sum of £ 10,000 on termination and assured her she would have a deposit on an apartment. Her remuneration was to be £ 500 net and she would work general nanny’s hours, 50 hours a week.
It was an oral contract even though it was her intention to have it in writing. She never got a written contract despite asking about it. The hearing continues.
Irish Independent
Pop star’s lifestyle laid bare in court as nanny sues Helen Bruce
26 March 2004
THE extraordinary lifestyle of a pop star’s family was revealed in the High Court yesterday when Dolores O’Riordan’s former nanny began a case for false imprisonment and breach of contract against the Cranberries’ singer and her husband Donald Burton.
Joy Fahy is also seeking the return of personal belongings from Dolores and Donald Burton which she claims they are holding. She wants the equivalent of IR£10,000 a Cherokee Jeep and a deposit for an apartment, all of which she says she is owed.
Dolores and her husband were in the court to hear tales of lavish lifestyles, neglected horses, rejected jeeps and ejected designer clothing.
Ms Fahy (34), from Batterstown, Co Meath, said problems arose from the start, when she joined the Burtons on a verbal contract.
The nanny, who previously worked for Larry Mullen from U2, said Mr Burton had promised her the “sun, moon and the stars”, and had pledged to beat any salary she was already on. She was asked to begin work by flying out to the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles in May 1999, during a tour by the Cranberries. She then moved with the couple’s 18-month-old child, referred to in court as Baby T, to Trump Towers in New York.
Disputes over hotel bills followed, as well as over her salary, the second hand jeep givento Ms Fahy, her days o , the short notice given to her of travel plans and the care of her horse.
The childminder was not given a mobile phone, and said Mr Burton frequently tried to get her to drink alcohol with him.
The final row occurred in Canada, when Ms Fahy alleged Mr Burton flew into a rage and was aggressive and abusive. He withheld her passport, and she barricaded herself into her bedroom, leaning a suitcase against the door, until it was returned. During the row,Mr Burton yelled: “You don’t get it, do you. My wife is Bono, she’s not Larry, she’s Bono.”
Ms Fahy claimed that when she returned to Ireland, she was unable to collect her belongings. Some were returned in black bin bags, she said, and many were damaged or destroyed.
Helen Bruce
