A man who beat the mother of his son, banging her head against a wall a number of times before throwing her on the ground and stamping on her head, has been jailed for 16 months.
The court heard that woman had taken out a protection order against the man two months previously, and this was “live” at the time of the assault.
The accused had been minding their son while she was at work, and when she returned home, they sat together for a short time before he became agitated and left to go to the shop.
A local garda said the woman later told officers that the man returned to the house that evening “in different form” and “appeared to be intoxicated”.
He became aggressive towards her before he banged her head against the wall three or four times, and she was thrown to the ground. He pulled her by the hair and continued to shout and scream at her before he stamped on her head.
The garda told Jennifer Jackson BL, prosecuting, that the woman started to black out and begged the man to stop. The attack stopped briefly, and she managed to get up.
He then went to hit her, but she struck him and got out of the room. She ran to her bedroom and called gardaí before the man came in and threw her phone across the room.
The garda said officers who arrived at the scene were so concerned about the woman’s head injuries that she was driven straight to Beaumont Hospital. She was treated for swelling and soft tissue injuries and given pain relief.
Breach
The garda confirmed that the man was granted High Court bail following his arrest. A condition of the bail was that he was to stay away from the woman’s home and not have contact with either her or their son.
The following month, the man returned to the woman’s home around 6.15pm and found a man babysitting. He came in the front door and grabbed at the man saying: “Are you being Daddy to my son?” before he hit him three or four times.
The garda confirmed the victim managed to get the man off him and did not make a complaint to gardaí, but the accused breached both his High Court bail and the protection order by going to the house in the first instance.
He confirmed that the man is in custody since January, following two further allegations of breaching a protection order the woman had against him.
The 35-year-old Dublin man pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm and breaches of a protection order on dates between October 2020 and November 2020.
A victim impact statement was submitted to the court, which said the woman required counselling due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and has missed work due to her injuries.
She also feels that her personal relationships have been impacted as she cannot visit family who live near the accused.
She said she fears she will be prevented from having a relationship in the future, and she does not socialise very often following the attack.
The garda agreed with Cathal McGreal BL, defending, that his client had “a good job and lost a good job” and accepted he had been “self-destructive”.
Anonymity
He said the woman wished to waive her right to anonymity, but Mr McGreal said this is not permitted under the law which covers breaches of protection orders.
Mr McGreal said his client’s behaviour has caused a lot of hurt and damage to a relationship that he had been in for a long time, and added that the loss of his son is “massive” to him.
He said his client becomes “angry when he is drunk” and accepts that he shouldn’t drink. He has previously attended treatment for alcoholism and has also made attempts on his own life.
Mr McGreal said his client is remorseful and has written letters to both his former partner and the man who had been minding his son. He has also attended a course for men overcoming violence.
Judge Martin Nolan said the couple had been in a long-term relationship which had broken down. It had its difficulties, and she obtained a protection order that had been served upon him.
He noted that gardaí had been so worried about the woman’s injuries that she was taken to Beaumont Hospital, but added: “Thankfully there was no brain damage.”
Judge Nolan said the man had “demonstrated disregard to the law” and deserves a custodial term.
The judge said it was an aggravating factor that the victim was his former partner and the mother of his child, jailing the man for 16 months.
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.
