Things came to a head during a holiday in Canada in 1999 where Fahy was on duty. The nanny claims she was told she would have to stay on there for another six weeks, that there was no food or provisions in the holiday home and that the couple would often leave her to go off on long shopping trips or drinking sessions. While dealing with those pressures, Fahy argues, she was abruptly fired.

But O'Riordan, who denies all the allegations, says Fahy quit mid-way through the holiday without warning. She told a court in Dublin: "It was very bad timing. I couldn't believe she would play around like this. It was the first time we had really relied on her and she was letting us down."