A Donegal man who attacked his wife with a rake claimed he only did so to stop her from going shoplifting in their local town.
The man, who is in his 20s, appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with assault and breaching a barring order under Section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act.
The man admitted arriving at the family home intoxicated on Wednesday, August 30th just before 7pm.
The accused, who cannot be named, was arrested at the address in Co Donegal by gardaí.
He was charged with assaulting both his wife and son and also of stealing €78 of alcohol from a shop.
When charged, the man replied: "I did not swing the rake at my wife, I swung it at the car. I didn't want her to go shoplifting."
The woman does have a history and a number of previous convictions for shoplifting.
Garda Sergeant Jim Collins said they were objecting to bail being granted to the accused for fear he will come back to the family home.
The man's wife gave evidence that she was in fear for herself and their children if the man gets drunk again.
She told Judge Ciaran Liddy: "I'm terrified. He has done this before. He got bail before and he still came back. I had to get a protection order for my own safety.
"He's a different man when he's not drinking alcohol. It's not fair on me and the kids as they are going back to school."
She added that her husband had swung the rake at her but that she jumped out of the way to prevent her being struck.
Solicitor for the accused man, Frank Dorrian, said his client had suffered a recent tragedy in his life and had taken to alcohol before signing himself into a psychiatric hospital after this incident.
He said the accused also had access to another address where he could stay while the barring order was in place.
Having heard the application by gardaí, Judge Liddy said he understood the woman's concerns, was sympathetic to the couple's situation but was granting bail.
He said he wanted a number of conditions to be placed on the accused including that he stay at a specific address, that he stay off intoxicants, that he stay away from his wife and that he provide a phone number on which he can be contacted by gardaí.
The accused man addressed the court and asked Judge Liddy if he could publicly apologise to his wife. He said he had been going through a rough patch for the past six weeks and had "gone off the rails."
He apologised and swore never to drink again. His wife replied "I'll take your apology."
Judge Liddy adjourned the case.
