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A MAN WHO kicked his former partner in the face during an attack and told her that “tonight was her execution” has been jailed for five years.
Barry O’Donoghue (38) of Mourne Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, was convicted by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of assault causing harm and threat to kill or cause serious harm at his address between 20 and 21 October 2016.
Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced O’Donoghue to five and a half years imprisonment for the threat to kill and three years imprisonment for the assault. She said both sentences will run concurrently with each other.
Judge Sheahan suspended the final six months of the sentence for a period of 12 months post-release, on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for that period, follow all directions of the Probation Service and engage in anger management.
She also ordered that the accused make no contact with the injured party, save through solicitors.
Garda Keith O’Brien told Ronan Prendergast BL, prosecuting, that on the date in question a confrontation began between O’Donoghue and his former partner in his house.
Garda O’Brien said that when the woman tried to open the front door she was knocked to the ground by O’Donoghue and pulled back inside the house. He started to punch her at the bottom of the stairs and shouted that “she was only ever evil to him”.
O’Donoghue raised his right foot and kicked her in the face with full force. He brought her into the kitchen and continued to hit her there.
Garda O’Brien said O’Donoghue told her he had been planning the attack and that she was going to die. He said that “tonight was her execution” and asked if she would like to be shot.
He was holding a bread knife in his hand while making the threats, the court heard. The woman left the house while he was asleep and contacted gardaí.
O’Donoghue has no previous convictions and has been in custody since his conviction by a jury on 7 February last. He is originally from Co Carlow.
‘I don’t buy it’
In her victim impact statement, which she read out in court, the woman said she had to have surgery to repair her eye and that she had nerve damage to the left side of her face.
She said she did not know how she made it out of that night alive. She said she had a recurring nightmare in which she saw her gravestone with the date 20 October, which then disappears and she hears O’Donoghue’s voice telling her he would bury her where no one would find her.
The woman said she feared he would seek revenge due to her reporting what he did to her. After reading a letter of apology written by O’Donoghue, she said: “I don’t buy it”.
Breffni Gordon BL, defending, said his client came from an “impeccable background”. He said the court could infer this would be O’Donoghue’s “last offence” due to his age and his lack of any previous convictions.
Judge Sheahan said the court did not accept that the accused accepted responsibility for his actions as he appeared to maintain his version of events that he injured the woman recklessly.
She said that the failure for him to acknowledge his actual behaviour did not show remorse or insight.
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The cynic in me thinks that Arlene is digging her heals in just to show she is British and therefore will not do the same as the Irish, but will do the same as the British even if that is not what NI citizens want her to do. The Scots and Welsh closing the schools gives her the opportunity to show she is as British as the Scots and Welsh. A ladder to climb down.
@Alan Rossiter: is say your statement is a statement of fact!
@Alan Rossiter: couldn’t agree more. The DUPs will happily risk everything. With Brexit they risked people’s livelihoods and now with the virus they risk people’s lives. All in an effort to prove/remain being British
@Alan Rossiter: Arlene will do as Boris says
@Alan Rossiter: had my children out anyway. They go to school in Tyrone. Take the power out off her hands. Seriously tricky ppl.
@Alan Rossiter: BJ caved in! Well done Scotland and NI :)
About time.
The north won’t close until Westminster tells them though.
@John Murphy: Snalene will now do as she’s told and not what was best for keeping this whole island safe. She will be remembered for doing nothing what a great leader.
@John Murphy: it’s not unprecedented…plenty of countries have done it already.
Dáil Éireann 1-0 Northern Ireland Assembly
Who said there was no sport
The extra week the UK had has been used for teachers to prepare student home course work and allow the parents to plan child care arrangements. There are no right answers here, there is no playbook to consult and its not a point scoring game . Its not about stopping the virus its about managing it so that health services can keep going.
Is that my horse running down the road? I’d better close the barn door so.
About time too. The North has been reckless with our health and safety. Wetherspoons and Filthys PUBS open in Belfast on Paddy’s day. On RTE news. As we an island with significant cross movements, direct bus and train links, we cannot let this go. A leading virologist at Queen’s said yesterday that due to poor testing regimes up to 3000 people could be infected now in the NORTH. Irish government needs to sort this out with Westminster. No repetition. Hop virologist is wrong. Soon find out.Titanic Centre closed/ staff illness.Try tracing its customers. Executive from at first at one subsequently divided on the issue
We cannot allow the Tory government to effectively undermine our trojan efforts to deal with the virus. We must be treated as an island for health safety purposes.Never again.
Our Strategy seems at odds with the UK & NI. Based on this would it not be prudent to shut down our exposure to the UK by way of Flights and Sea travel?
Only facilitate the movement of Goods and those who need to return home.
@Charles McCarthy: But they can fly into the North and come in that way or by ferry.
@Charles McCarthy: build the wall
How dare ye try and tell us brits what to do…….our egos cant take it.
Closed now. A case of coronavirus in my niece’s school and the original plan was to close until Monday for a deep clean. My niece is experiencing symptoms and cannot get tested. Her mother is a public health nurse and has been instructed to continue working. Madness
Slow learners
Finally!!! It took long enough!!!
Took long enough but that’s all schools on islands shut now.
Thank goodness for that!
Poor Arlene too little too late
NI hang your head in shame…
@MickN: DUP, UUP and Alliance. the nationalist party’s said they should close
Arnold won’t be happy
@Seld Employed Anarchist: was he ever happy?
Australia keeps its schools open. Apparently, Aussie politicians want us to be another Italy. We had plenty warning but have chosen to ignore it.
I don’t think the proposed plan to allow the children of healthcare workers in N Ireland to be cared for in yet to decided on buildings in groups is maybe a good idea but completely understand the need to help the health workers as the elderly need protection too .China found that 15-17% of the covid 19 cases was among healthcare workers there . It could mean that if children or their parents in these groups contracted the disease and all the children are together potentially many of the parents could then become contacts if certain scenarios arose and then many healthcare workers be required to stay home or worse case scenario bring the virus from infected children in the group in to their patients as children often have little or no symptoms . Difficult situation to arrange .
I wonder how many people will die because Arlene was more worried about appearing to be more british than she was about the lives of the people of northern ireland
have your say