The mother of Aisling McCarthy Brady has told her priest in Lavey, County Cavan, that she is distraught by the allegations against her daughter in Boston.

Her daughter has been charged with the assault of Rehma Sabir, a one-year-old baby, from Cambridge, MA, causing the child’s death. McCarthy Brady, who has 15 years experience in her field, had been working as a nanny for the Sabir family for six months.

Father Kevin Fay spoke to the local Cavan Monaghan radio station, Northern Sound Radio, about the distress the allegations and press is causing Margaret Brady and her family in Cavan.

He said, “You can imagine any mother seeing the news of their child and this allegation being made. Naturally enough, you would be just distraught, you know.”

Fay said she is “very upset and very annoyed” by the allegations of violence against her daughter.

He said the family is “very well respected, very decent family” who were “regular Mass goers and very good neighbors.”

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“An allegation is an allegation. She is a girl on American soil.”

He added that McCarthy Brady was a “lovely girl” who he had known when she was growing up.

Fay said that despite the distressing news the community is supporting the family at this difficult time.

He told the local radio station, “People in the rural community are very good...And they have great understanding and feeling and they understand the emotions. The nature of the allegation is very strong, and people are very, very worried.”

He continued, “We need to respect the immediate family and give them a bit of time...We need to give them time.”

The Boston prosecutors expect a murder charge to be brought against McCarthy Brady when the results of the baby’s autopsy are returned. McCarthy Brady will return to court in February.