A woman who claimed her ex-partner broke into her home on St Stephen’s Day before assaulting her and cutting her back has been granted an interim barring order against him.
The woman winced on sitting down at the emergency domestic violence court in Dolphin House, Dublin, on Monday afternoon, saying: “He has left me with bruises all over my body, I can barely walk.”
The man had appeared at her house on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, she said, before he broke into her home on St Stephen’s Day while she was in bed.
She told Judge Deirdre Gearty that she locked her young children in her bathroom before he “smacked” her several times and cut her back using what she believed was a knife.
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The woman, who told the judge she was due to meet gardaí regarding the incident, was granted an interim barring order until a full hearing on the matter.
Dark bruising
Another woman, who brought her young child in a buggy to the court earlier that morning, told how the father of her children hit her several times while they were having a drink on St Stephen’s Day.
The woman said she is living in homeless accommodation with her children.
She had dark bruising surrounding her eye as she sat in the witness box and told the judge that on St Stephen’s Day, her ex-partner accused her of cheating on him.
He subsequently became “violent” and started to hit her on the head and face, she said.
She was granted a protection order until a full hearing on the matter, meaning should her ex-partner put her in fear for her safety, he could be arrested by gardaí.
Another woman, aged in her 50s, was granted a protection order after the court heard her brother “beat” her on Christmas night after she refused to give him a cigarette.
The woman, who had bruising on her face, told the judge she left her house and stayed with another family member that night.
“We’d often have arguments, but he never did anything like that,” she said.
‘Very scared’
Several mothers attended the court on Monday seeking orders against their adult sons. Among them was a woman in her 80s who said she “no longer feels safe” in her own home, which she shares with her son.
She alleged her son is “extremely verbally abusive” and repeatedly tells her she has “dementia”.
Earlier this month, the woman said she was “very scared” after her son “attacked” her and was “screaming” at her, during which he smashed an ornament and a picture across the room.
She left to stay with another family member until after Christmas, she said. Her son was away for some time but was due to return soon, she said, adding: “That’s why I’m afraid.”
“I don’t want him back in the house because I’m frightened,” she said.
Noting that the woman “effectively had to leave your house”, Judge Gearty granted an interim barring order, meaning her son will not be able to attend the home.
“I’m very conscious that no parent comes in here without a very good reason,” the judge said. “We sit here every day dealing with issues like this, so don’t feel that you’re by yourself or that you’re the only one.”
One woman was granted a protection order after the judge heard her adult son broke into her home while she was in hospital days before Christmas.
“I don’t want any communication with him, it’s hard for me to say, but it’s the truth,” she said.
Another woman, aged in her 70s, alleged her adult son “messed up the whole house” on December 25th.
While she claimed there had been previous similar incidents, there was “nothing as bad as this”, she said.
“He threatened me, he upturned everything in the house, he smashed glasses, he smashed tops of tables,” she said, adding her son “disappeared” before gardaí arrived that day.
“I know that he would have killed me if he got his hands on me,” she claimed, adding: “I never want to see him again, ever.”
