Man jailed for attacking pregnant girlfriend after she refused to eat dinner

A man who attacked his pregnant girlfriend after she refused to eat a dinner he had cooked has been jailed for three years.

Stephen Coveney-Ryan (26) was invited by Róisín MacNeilis into her home in Donegal Town when he became homeless shortly after they met by chance at Dublin’s Busáras in March 2021. However, as the weeks went on Ms MacNeilis claimed he became aggressive and jealous.

Coveney-Ryan pleaded guilty at Letterkenny Circuit Court to threatening to kill Ms MacNeilis, assault and producing a knife on July 10th, 2021.

The court was told that the accused had made dinner and Ms MacNeilis, who was eight weeks pregnant, said she was not hungry, but then decided to eat cereal.

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Coveney-Ryan left the house for a walk and the pair initially went to separate bedrooms on his return. He later got into bed beside Ms MacNeilis and attacked her. He put his hands around her neck and Ms MacNeilis said she feared might die as she could not breathe. She managed to get to the front door but there was no key in it and the accused followed her into the bathroom and attacked her again.

He told Ms MacNeilis she was not fit to be a mother and that he would kill her. He was also charged with producing a fishing knife during the attack.

Escaped

Ms MacNeilis escaped through a window and drove away, but then started receiving threatening messages and calls from Coveney-Ryan, who said he was going to chop her up and would kill her parents. She told her family about the ordeal and on July 12th, 2021 made a statement to gardaí. Coveney-Ryan, with an address at O’Clerigh Avenue, Donegal Town, but originally from Co Tipperary, was later arrested.

He admitted hitting Ms MacNeilis but said he had mental health issues and disagreed with many of the claims. He later admitted to them and said he was “psychotic” on the night and could not believe what had happened. The court was told that he had previously faced charges for offences including burglary, breaching a barring order and using threatening language.

David Byrnes, barrister for the accused, said a psychologist interviewed his client and deemed him a man who needed help navigating his psychotic episodes. Mr Byrnes said his client’s behaviour had no place in society, but he suggested to Judge John Aylmer that rehabilitation was the most suitable direction.

Ms MacNeilis sat at the back of the courtroom with the couple’s infant daughter while a Garda read her victim impact statement. She said she felt like she went from being the luckiest woman around when she met Coveney-Ryan to living in a horror show. She said she had spent time working with the homeless and could not understand how he treated her so badly after she took him in.

Fears for future

She had hoped she would spend the rest of her life with the accused but now questions but now fears what might happen to her and her daughter when he is released from prison.

Judge Aylmer said the fact a knife was produced during the incident added to the terror of the incident, which he placed in the mid-range for such offences with a headline sentence of five years. In mitigation, he noted Coveney-Ryan’s guilty plea and remorse, his difficult upbringing, personality disorder and that he had completed courses in jail.

He reduced the sentence to four years and suspended the final 12 months to encourage Coveney-Ryan’s rehabilitation. He also ordered him to abstain from alcohol and drugs and to comply with a prison resettlement programme.