By Sonya McLean
A convicted killer who rammed a car his former partner was sitting in with their three children before he attacked the woman’s sister in front of her teenage daughter has had his prison term extended.
The 31-year-old man pleaded guilty on the afternoon of his trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting his former partner’s sister and criminal damage of his partner’s vehicle on August 13, 2024.
A charge of breach of a safety order that occurred when his partner was bringing their child to creche on August 29, 2024 was taken into account.
Due to this third charge, the case falls under the Domestic Violence Act, which means that the names of all those involved in the case cannot be published.
Minutes after the man rammed the car his ex-partner and three young children were in with his motorbike, he went to her sister’s home and punched her in the face in the presence of her 15-year-old daughter.
The court heard that before the attack the man spat in the woman’s face and her daughter stood in front of her in a bid to protect her.
The woman was left with fractured nasal bones and a deviated septum.
She has since undergone two surgeries in an attempt to fix the damage and is due to have a third operation.
Garda Kelly McKiernan said on the back of what happened that day the man’s ex-partner secured a protection order against him.
The children were two years old and twin seven year olds at the time of the offence.
Just over two weeks later she was dropping their youngest child to her first day at creche when the man and his mother drove by and he shouted at her that he wanted to see their children.
She reminded him of the protection order that was in place and he said that this was only in relation to her and not their children.
David Perry BL, prosecuting, told the court that because the woman was put in fear through that verbal interaction with the man it was considered a breach of the order she had secured against him.
The man is currently serving a six-year term after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter after the victim died days after from the injuries he sustained following a punch from the man in July 2023.
He has other convictions for road traffic, drug offences and endangerment.
Sentencing the man, Judge Ronan Munro commended the strength of the women in the case, including the young teenager, who he said had protected her mother “like a lion” chasing off the accused after the assault with no thought for her own safety.
He told them the guilty pleas in the case had come due to them standing their ground.
Summarising the facts of the case he said it was “unfathomable” that the accused man had rammed the car with his own children inside.
He said for a child to know “daddy is doing this” would cause damage.
He said it seemed to him the accused man had a need to dominate and that control was very important to him.
In mitigation he noted the guilty plea, noting it was important and something that has to be recognised.
He said the accused had said publicly out of his own mouth that he did it.
The judge said the accused man did not have a great record but appeared to be able to work and function when he was not beating up women or ramming cars.
He said the man seemed to be using his time in custody wisely but said his apology, written in relation to the assault only, felt “a bit lukewarm.”
He noted the accused had previously killed someone and that did not stop him punching someone else.
Judge Munro imposed a sentence totalling four years, which he made consecutive to the six year term he is currently serving.
He suspended the final two years of that term of strict conditions.
He told the injured parties this was not due to leniency but in the hope that this behaviour stops.
He ordered that the man enter a ten-year bond to stay 30 metres away from and have no contact with the complainants in the case.
He told the man the gardai will be closely monitoring this and any breach inside prison or after his release will be brought before him.
He again commended the women in the case for standing their ground right up to today and said as a result of this the accused man had been brought to justice.
During the sentence hearing the woman’s sister read her victim impact statement into the record.
She said the attack was brutal and she was left with devastating injuries.
She described the pain in the immediate aftermath as “unbearable”.
She said she considered it her job to protect her daughter but instead, that day, her daughter felt she had to protect her.
“The look of fear on her face is something I will never forget,” the woman continued adding that no mother should have to witness their child stepping into defend them against an attack.
She said both she and her daughter were too terrified to return to their home after the assault, knowing the man was still walking the streets.
She said her home is now associated with fear and violence.
She had to take time off work after the assault to attend hospital appointments and due to the pain she was in, which she said resulted in a loss of wages.
She continues to suffer panic attacks and struggles to sleep. “There are nights that I barely sleep,” she continued.
“Not one day has passed without those memories passing through my mind,” she said.
The woman spoke of her difficulty dealing with the approaching trial, describing herself as being physically sick with anxiety, preparing to give evidence at trial.
“While I am relieved (he has pleaded guilty) I cannot understand why he waited until the very last minute to admit what he had done, he has added to the emotional trauma,” she said.
She said she does not believe she will ever be the same person again – she said it has changed her life forever.
The man’s partner’s victim impact statement was read into the record by Mr Perry.
She said what happened to her children that day is something “no child should have to endure” and said it was difficult to watch “the trauma they have suffered”.
She described the stress and difficulties her children have experienced since by the actions of a man who “should have been their greatest protector”.
The woman said it caused “emotional damage that cannot be measured” and it “opened their eyes to who their father is”.
“The effects of your actions will remain with us,” the woman continued before she added that her children are frightened of their father and do not want any contact with him.
“The trust they once had has been shattered – everything we have built has been turned upside down,” she said before adding that every day she has to fight for her children to protect them and help them heal.
She said they will continue to live with the impact of their father’s actions every day – “three innocent children who deserve so much better,” she said.
The teenage daughter of the assault victim also provided a victim impact statement which Mr Perry read into the record.
She outlined how she witnessed the man assaulting her mother and she chased him to the end of her garden.
“I realise now how dangerous he was – at the time all I could think of was protecting her,” she said referring to her mother.
She said the image of her mother lying on their hallway floor, covered in blood, in the aftermath of the attack has stayed with her ever since.
She said her whole life has changed since.
She suffers panic attacks and anxiety – “I will carry it with me for the rest of my life”.
She said she was terrified of the thoughts of having to give evidence at trial, “this could have been avoided if he accepted responsibility sooner,” she continued.
She concluded her statement saying that the attack will “have a lasting impact on me as child who witnessed it”.
Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC defending read a letter of apology his client had written for the court.
In it, he apologised and said he needs to accept “the depth of the harm I caused”.
“I know that I hurt you deeply. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my behaviour,” the man said before he promised “I will never harm anyone again”.
He said he hopes the woman will in time “find a way to heal”.
Mr Ó Dúnlaing acknowledged that in the “eloquent” victim impact statements the women spoke of fear of having to give evidence.
He acknowledged that his client entered a late plea of guilty but asked the court to accept that it “still had some intrinsic value” and saved the victims “the uncertainty of an outcome of a trial”.
Counsel said since his remand in custody the man has been engaging in a number of programmes, including an alternative to violence programme, as he accepts that he has “significant anger management issues”.
He said the man left school at 14 years old, without any exams and his mother raised him alone as his father left the home due to a heroin addiction.
Counsel submitted that his client will have to work for the rest of his life to amend for something he has done.
He said his client loves his children and wants to be good father to them, although counsel accepted a comment from Judge Munro that not only did he ram a car with his own children in it, he also attacked a woman in front of her child.