Church not required to pay towards school’s €90,000 settlement for child scarred by bramble

A court in Dublin has ruled that the Church of Ireland is not liable for a €90,000 settlement paid by Deerpark Montessori School following an accident involving a young student. The decision comes after the school attempted to secure financial support from the church for the payout made to Cara Faye O’Brien O’Keeffe, a child who sustained facial injuries after falling into a bramble on the school grounds. The incident took place on April 19, 2018, when Cara, then three years old, suffered lacerations and abrasions to her face after coming into contact with a bramble while playing in the garden area of Deerpark Montessori School. The school operates from St Mary’s Church Parish Centre in Howth, County Dublin. The case was initially settled in 2022, with Judge Garrett Simons describing the payment as “very generous.” The settlement was approved after the court acknowledged the severity of the child's injuries, which were deemed “quite nasty.” In 2024, the school sought legal recourse against the Church of Ireland, requesting an indemnity or contribution toward the settlement costs. The request was based on the premise that the church, as the property owner, might share responsibility for the incident. However, the court rejected the claim after a detailed review of the circumstances surrounding the accident. High Court judge Tony O’Connor presided over the recent ruling, examining whether the church breached its duty of care toward the child or the school. He emphasized that the amount of the settlement itself was not under scrutiny. Instead, the focus was on whether the church had failed in its obligations regarding the safety of the premises. The judge noted that both the church and the school were aware that children regularly used the garden area under teacher supervision. Evidence presented showed that the bramble shoot responsible for the injury had appeared shortly after a routine garden maintenance session conducted on March 24, 2018. A strimmer operator testified that such a small bramble shoot would likely have gone unnoticed during previous inspections. Further evidence indicated that the school had implemented a daily inspection regime for the garden area prior to allowing children to play there. The judge found no fault in the systems of inspection, supervision, and maintenance employed by both the church and the school. He stated that expecting the church to identify a bramble shoot that emerged just days before the incident was unreasonable. The court’s decision highlighted that the church fulfilled its responsibilities in maintaining the garden area. The judge concluded that the church could not reasonably be expected to anticipate or prevent the emergence of a single bramble shoot that developed rapidly and went undetected despite regular maintenance efforts. The ruling effectively absolves the Church of Ireland from any liability related to the settlement. The school will bear the full cost of the €90,000 payment made to Cara’s family. The case underscores the complexities of determining liability in incidents involving shared premises and highlights the importance of clear communication and expectations between property owners and operators of facilities on their land.