The daughter of Seamus Culleton has said she has “no sympathy whatsoever” for his predicament and she hopes he is deported back to Ireland, so they can reconcile.
The Kilkenny man entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2009 and never left after the permitted 90 days.
The month after his arrival in the US, Mr Culleton failed to appear in court in Ireland on charges of unlawful possession of drugs. A warrant for his arrest was then issued by the judge.
Now married to an American woman, he was in the process of applying for a green card, which would allow him to remain permanently in the United States.
Despite this, in September, he was arrested by ICE and taken to a detention centre in Texas.
On Lunchtime Live, Heather Morrissey, one of two daughters Mr Culleton abandoned when he moved to the States, said she had been “shocked” when she heard about his arrest by ICE.
However, she also said some of the media coverage about the case had upset her.
“I saw it up on Facebook,” she recalled.
“I was shocked and upset and angry that he didn't mention us once... just about his wife and his dogs.
“I was very, very annoyed; not one of them mentioned it - him or Tiffany - when they both know we exist.
“And they're acting like their dogs are their kids.”
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Ms Morrissey and her twin sister first made contact with Mr Culleton when they were around 12, but it was only at 16 that the twins “properly” got to know him.
However, they have not seen him since he left for the United States.
“We were going to and then we decided not to because I don't know why we should make our efforts over there, when he should come see,” she recalled.
“We didn't leave - he left us. If he wants to meet us, he should come to us.”
When asked how she felt about his legal predicament, Ms Morrissey said she would “like for him to come home and to reconcile with us”.
“I have no sympathy whatsoever about it,” she added.
“He had a choice to leave and he still won't leave and he's saying he's in fear for his life - but he won't come back when he's getting a chance to come back.”
Ms Morrissey said she “just wants answers” from him, while she also hopes he can get to know his unborn grandchild if he returns permanently to Ireland.
Main image: Seamus Culleton. Picture by: GoFundMe.
