A woman jumped from a Dublin city centre balcony to escape being attacked by her then partner who was “a talented boxer”, a court has heard.
Michael Ward (44) was jailed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for 4½ years after pleading guilty to assault causing harm at an apartment on Parnell Street on December 16th, 2023.
The court heard the woman, then aged 19, was so afraid of Ward, who had locked her into the apartment and would not let her escape, that she jumped from the first floor balcony.
Ward, of Parnell Street, Dublin 1, was also sentenced for another assault on the same woman. He was on bail at the time of the offence and has 53 previous convictions.
Verona Murphy: Motion of confidence in Ceann Comhairle passed in Dáil
High Court awards former Limerick hurler €950,000 over injuries sustained working for Johnson & Johnson
The underlying problem of boyhood is manhood
‘Ireland is a beautiful country. And for all the weirdness, I find the people to be really helpful’
Garda Cian Rochford told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that gardaí were alerted to a disturbance between a man and a woman on the balcony of an apartment on Parnell Street on December 16th, 2023.
Ward hit the woman and when she tried to get out, he tried to stop her leaving by hitting her on the legs. She then jumped from the first floor balcony and managed to get up and hide under a parked car on Gardiner Street.
She had a seizure, which was unrelated to the assault, and was taken to the Mater hospital. The court heard the pair, who started their relationship the previous summer, had been drinking.
The woman said she was trying to leave but Ward put away the keys and pushed her down. She said he punched her in the face and then put his forearm up to her throat. She said the attack went on for up to a minute.
The woman said she banged on the door and shouted and screamed. She made one or two attempts to get out before jumping down to the street.
Garda Jennifer Hyland gave evidence of a second assault on March 3rd, 2024, in which a witness heard a woman screaming.
The witness identified the apartment and when gardaí knocked on the door, Ward said he could not find the key.
He claimed he’d had a fight with his teenage son and denied there was a woman present. Gardaí saw a mattress blocking a door and went in and found the woman unconscious and having an epileptic fit.
The court heard Ward had headbutted the woman and had his hands around her neck during the assault. The woman had red marks on her neck and chin.
Despite Ward’s bail conditions, the woman continued to see him. When she said she was going to leave the next day, she was subjected to a prolonged assault. Ward threatened her with a pliers and said he was going to kill her. He then got on top of the woman started to choke her, the court heard.
Ward was arrested but was so intoxicated he was unfit for questioning.
Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said Ward was a “talented boxer” who left school at 14 as his parents wanted him to box.
Counsel said his client grew up in extreme poverty and started using cannabis aged 12 before moving to the UK and living a nomadic life. He became addicted to cocaine at 16 and by 18 he was abusing a number of substances.
“He’s devastated about what he did to this lady,” Mr Le Vert said.
