{"id":186575,"date":"2025-11-18T05:49:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/186575\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T05:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:49:11","slug":"irish-mum-vents-anger-after-eight-trips-to-egypt-to-try-to-find-abducted-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/186575\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish mum vents anger after eight trips to Egypt to try to find abducted children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mandy Kelly has not seen or heard from her young sons since they were snatched by their father while on holiday in Cairo in March, 2022Mandy with Zayn and Kareem. <\/p>\n

A mother has told of her anger after making eight trips to Egypt<\/a> to try and find her abducted children and got nowhere.<\/p>\n

Mandy Kelly<\/a> has not seen or heard from her sons Zayn, 7 and Kareem, 4, in three-and-a-half years since they were snatched by their father while on holiday in Cairo in March, 2022.<\/p>\n

She is now pleading with the Irish Government<\/a> to make the safe return of her boys a top diplomatic priority and that they be top of the agenda in any future cooperation from trade to security between the two countries.<\/p>\n

But she also called on the Gardai<\/a> to give her an update on her request for an Interpol Red Notice request so her ex-husband can be arrested for taking their sons illegally.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian courts<\/a> have already ordered him to give the boys back to their mother but the police can’t find him to implement the court ruling.<\/p>\n

Mandy Kelly with one of her young sons before they were kidnapped by their father(Image: Irish Mirror)<\/p>\n

Mandy Kelly said: “I have reached the 11th hour. 11 months after a presidential commitment was conveyed to Ireland, there is still no verified welfare update, no consular access, and no clear pathway home for my sons.<\/p>\n

“I want to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs for their ongoing work, and to note my meeting with T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris on 30 September, where he reassured me his office would support this case to a successful conclusion.<\/p>\n

“I appreciate that commitment but I believe we have come to the moment to deliver it. It is time for my sons to come home. There is nothing more I can do, it is time now for the highest government intervention in this case.”<\/p>\n

The heartbroken mother said she is aware that the Irish Embassy in Cairo has now formally described her case as “urgent”, but she wants to see these words translated into action.<\/p>\n

She stated: “Urgency means nothing if it does not lead to visible, dated steps.<\/p>\n

“I have made eight trips to the region alone without so much as a visit or photo of my sons. My life has been on hold. My communities in Monaghan and Louth ask me every week if there\u2019s news. I have none to give them. Zayn and Kareem deserve to come home.”<\/p>\n

Mandy Kelly with one of her young sons before they were kidnapped by their father(Image: Irish Mirror)<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the efforts of officials and supportive Oireachtas<\/a> members, Miss Kelly is asking the Government to move from assurances to dated steps.<\/p>\n

She wants to see independent welfare verification, restored contact, and senior-level engagement that leads to a defined route home for her two children.<\/p>\n

Mandy Kelly added: “This is not about confrontation. It\u2019s about ensuring that children\u2019s rights are also included in the baseline of Ireland\u2019s relationship with Egypt.”<\/p>\n

She noted that other strands of Irish\u2013Egyptian cooperation have continued in recent months. “All I\u2019m asking is that two Irish children are not left behind as diplomacy advances.”<\/p>\n

She told of her frustration that trade and cultural cooperation between Ireland and Egypt has continued to advance while the welfare of two Irish sons remains unresolved.<\/p>\n

Mandy is pictured at home holding pictures of Zayn and Kareem. (Image: Ciara Wilkinson)<\/p>\n

Mandy said: “All I\u2019m asking is that Ireland\u2019s partnerships reflect its values. No agreement or exchange should move faster than justice for two Irish children.<\/p>\n

“I am seeking an update on the status of the INTERPOL Red Notice request with An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na and I will continue to work with my Egyptian legal counsel and engage with the relevant authorities in Egypt to progress the case.<\/p>\n

“If cooperation continues to stall, I will respectfully call for a stronger diplomatic intervention. My appeal is simple: please act so I can tell my sons truthfully that their country stood up for them.”<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: <\/strong>Sign up here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mandy Kelly has not seen or heard from her young sons since they were snatched by their father…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,372,13,14,6,11,12,15,16,30504,5,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-186575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-egypt","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-latest-news","15":"tag-latestnews","16":"tag-main-news","17":"tag-mainnews","18":"tag-missing-persons","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-top-stories","21":"tag-topstories","22":"tag-world","23":"tag-world-news","24":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115569136034377785","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}