Estranged husband gave wife one hour to leave home, court told

A man was overheard telephoning his wife threatening her to leave her house minutes after he was served a protection order, a court heard.

The former businessman, who is in his 40s and cannot be identified due to reporting restrictions, has been ordered to obey strict bail terms.

He was arrested early on Saturday morning and charged with breaking the order, contrary to the Domestic Violence Act, and appeared before Judge Victor Blake at a weekend sitting of Dublin District Court.

A garda told the court the woman had been granted a protection order after the couple split up and the husband moved away several months ago.

Overheard

A garda located him and served the order on him at 12.03am on Saturday. Three minutes later, the court heard, the garda overheard the accused making a telephone call to the woman. “You know what I am capable of, ” he allegedly said. The court heard he said she had an hour to get out of her house and home town.

The garda said the accused was fully aware of the court order that he was not to contact his wife.

The judge granted bail on strict terms and ordered the man to appear again in court next week.