Report: Hometown priest says Irish nanny’s mother is distraught at charges in Cambridge assault on toddler

By Globe Staff

The mother of Aisling McCarthy Brady told her hometown priest that she was upset at the news that her daughter has been charged with assaulting a Cambridge toddler who later died, according to a published report.

“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,” the Rev. Kevin Fay, priest in residence in the town of Lavey in County Cavan, said in a radio interview.

Margaret Brady, the mother, is “very upset and very annoyed,” Kay told Northern Sound radio, according to the Irish Daily Mail.

Fay said the family was “a very well respected, very decent family” who were “regular Massgoers and very good neighbors.” He said the family was “devastated ... as any family would be.”

“An allegation is an allegation. She is a girl on American soil,” the priest said.

Fay said local people who had known Aisling McCarthy Brady when she was growing up said she was a “lovely girl.”

He also said that despite the dismaying news, “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.”

The priest also said, “We need to respect the immediate family and give them a bit of time. ... We need to give them time.”

McCarthy Brady, 34, of Quincy faces an assault and battery charge for allegedly injuring Rehma Sabir, 1, on Jan. 14. The toddler died two days later. Prosecutors have said they expect a murder charge to be brought against Brady once an autopsy on the toddler is complete.

The story of a tender infant who was allegedly heinously abused by a caregiver has generated headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.