A man who attacked his then girlfriend in her bed and fractured her nose has been jailed for three months.
Adam Murphy (32) pleaded guilty on a trial date in November 2021 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault at his apartment in Rathmines Town Centre, Rathmines, Dublin on July 3rd, 2015. He has no previous convictions.
The court heard that during an argument, Murphy pinned Roisin Macken, now 31-years-old, to her bed and punched her a number of times in the face, causing her nose to bleed and giving her two black eyes.
Judge Melanie Greally said the court considered this to be a very serious assault committed in the context of a romantic relationship.
She said there has been over six years of severe emotional and psychological turmoil, both relating to the offence itself and the length of time the case has taken.
Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Greally noted the assault has had “a profoundly damaging effect” on the victim in virtually every facet of her life since.
Treatment programme
The judge sentenced Murphy to four-and-a-half months imprisonment, but suspended the final one-and-a-half months on strict conditions, including that he follow all directions of the Probation Service for 12 months post release and attend any treatment programme for overcoming violent emotions as directed by his probation officer.
Judge Greally also ordered that the €4,000 Murphy had with him in court be transmitted to Women's Aid.
She noted that “for whatever reason” the case had been resolved by a plea to common assault which carries a maximum sentence of six months.
In her victim impact statement, which she read out in court, Ms Macken said there were days she struggled to get up and get dressed in the lead up to the trial.
She said even now she worries about bumping into Murphy and avoids going places on her own. She added it was only thanks to her current boyfriend that she has been able to find happiness and security.
She said the assault has changed her life forever, and she hates that she is not the same person she was before she met the accused. She said she feels like “a little dark cloud” will always follow her around.
Ms Macken said the verbal and physical abuse she endured affected her physically, financially and mentally and that it still affects her to this day. She added she used to burst into tears looking in the mirror because all she would see is a crooked nose.
She said the stress she endured could have been avoided if he just owned up to what he did initially. She said she does not think he will ever fully comprehend how much he damaged another person's life.
Ms Macken said that knowing the accused, he is not the type of person to feel remorse.
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.
