'I haven't seen my children in two and a half years'

Mandy and her children Zayn and Kareem in December 2021

An Irish woman who said her two sons were taken from her has called for more protection for children that have dual nationalities.

Mandy Kelly's children have been in Egypt with her ex-partner since 2022.

The judiciaries in the Republic of Ireland and Egypt have both ruled that Ms Kelly's children must be returned to her.

She has called for her ex-partner to respect the rulings, adding politicians and diplomats need to do more to help parents in similar situations.

Mandy with her son Kareem on his first birthday

When Mandy Kelly and her then-partner travelled with their children to Egypt in 2022 it was to meet their father's family.

Ms Kelly said she believed it was in Zayn Mohamed and Kareem's "best interests" that they got to know their paternal relatives.

"That was an incredibly bad decision," she told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme.

Ms Kelly, who is from Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland, has not seen her two children since this trip.

When the family was due to return to Ireland in March 2022, Ms Kelly's partner refused, taking the two children away.

She said she asked her partner to meet her at the airport with their children so that she could return home, but he did not.

Mandy and her son Kareem in December 2021

She described the flight home from Egypt, without her children, as the "toughest thing" she has ever done.

However, she said that she knew that her ex-partner "was not going to co-operate".

Over the last two years, the mother has been involved in a legal battle to have her two children returned to her.

Unlike Ireland, Egypt is not signed up to the Hague Convention on child abductions. This makes it difficult for children to be brought home by the Irish State.

Ms Kelly said politicians and diplomats could make a real difference, and that further agreements between countries would be beneficial to parents in her situation.

"I would hope that in the future an agreement could be made between Ireland and Egypt, Ireland and Lebanon, Ireland and other non-Hague [Convention] countries."

In July, a Belfast mother whose son is in Lebanon, appealed to the UK and Irish governments to help find him and secure his return to Northern Ireland.

Mandy and her children Zayn and Kareem in December 2020

In August, Ms Kelly won full custody of her children in Egyptian courts.

She has called on her partner and his family to "respect the judiciary decision of both Ireland and Egypt, and to hand over my two sons to me".

"The last time Zayn saw me, he was three," said Ms Kelly.

"I pray and I hope that he has a vague memory of me."

Zayn is now six years old. The last time Ms Kelly saw her son Kareem, he was just 16 months - he is now three years old.

Ms Kelly told BBC News NI she has no knowledge of her children's health, or whether or not Zayn is attending school - he was due to start in 2022.

"It’s two and a half years since I saw my two children," she said.

"Sometimes I can’t even put the image in my head about how much my children have grown since I saw them last.

"I still have this image of my two children of being very young and being in my arms."

Mandy with her son Zayn, aged two

A spokesperson for the Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: "Minister McEntee met with Mandy Kelly earlier this year and heard about her incredibly difficult situation.

"At the meeting the minister assured her of the government’s ongoing support, which of course includes the Department of Foreign Affairs’ consular assistance, in her efforts to secure the return of her children."

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs added: "The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and has provided extensive consular assistance, and continues to do so.

"As with all consular cases, the department does not comment on the detail of individual cases."