A man beat his partner unconscious because she wanted to go to bed and he wanted to stay up partying, a court has heard.
On the night of July 6th, 2019 Daniel Prenderville (34) attacked Hayley Flood in her home in Walkinstown, Dublin, knocking her to the floor and then kicking her repeatedly on the face. The woman lost consciousness and when she woke up Prenderville was gone and she left the flat because she was afraid to stay in her home.
Prenderville of Seagull House, Rutland Avenue, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm at Dowland Road, Walkinstown.
He also pleaded guilty to criminal damage of the front door of her flat when he kicked it in.
Defending counsel Keith Spencer BL told the court that his client was on drugs on the night of the attack and wanted to keep partying. He said drugs were at the root of all his problems.
Judge Martin Nolan set a headline sentence of four years.
He said that taking into consideration the mitigating factors, including the guilty pleas and Prenderville's steps towards reform, the appropriate sentence was a prison term of 33 months.
He noted that Prenderville had spent around 20 months in custody on this offence and that allowing for the usual good behaviour discount this amounted to 27 months.
The court heard that Prenderville had his bail revoked and was remanded into custody after persistent breaches of curfew.
Judge Nolan said he was taking this time served into account and imposed a six-month sentence to date from Wednesday for the assault offence.
He said that the defendant did have a long history of offending, some of which are relevant, and has a propensity for violence but noted that he is sincerely sorry and has taken steps to reform himself.
He said that in ordinary terms the assault was in the mid-range, but the aggravating factor was that it was a domestic situation.
Eoin Lawlor BL, prosecuting, had previously informed the court that the fact that there was a relationship between defendant and victim was an aggravating factor, pursuant to the Domestic Violence Act 2018.
Judge Nolan noted that the victim suffered soft tissue injuries. He said it was a very frightening incident and the woman was terrified.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800 341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01 554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.
Safe Ireland also outlines a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
