Woman beaten by man while holding their baby, court hears

A woman has been granted a protection order after she told a court she had to beg her former partner to stop beating her while she was holding their child in her arms and that he resumed the attack when she put the baby down.

The woman told Dublin District Family Court on Tuesday that the man was physically abusive towards her over a number of years and that he had used "hands and weapons".

In a sworn statement to the court, the woman said she had received a broken nose, jaw and ribs as a result of his attacks. She said the man had tried to knock her teeth out and had tortured her.

The woman said he beat her while she was pregnant and that she had to beg him to stop beating her while she had the baby in her arms on one occasion. She said the man had let her put the baby down and subsequently continued with the beating.

The woman said the man, who was not present in court, was recently released from prison and that she is afraid, describing him as a “very violent man”.

The woman applied for a protection order against her former partner, which prohibits him from using or threatening to use violence.

The woman said she did not want to apply for a barring order, which would prohibit the man from entering, watching or being near her home along with further violence or threats of violence as she wanted to keep her address secret from her former partner.

Judge Gerard Furlong granted the woman a protection order on an ex-parte (one side only represented) basis.

He said he would provide the woman an interim barring order “without hesitation” given the seriousness of the evidence, but understood she did not want to reveal her address.

Judge Furlong told the woman she was welcome to re-apply for a barring order at any time and set a full hearing, which the man is expected to attend, for a later date.

In a separate case, a woman was granted an interim barring order after she told the court her former partner threatened to “gut me like a pig”.

In a sworn statement to the court, the woman said she and her former partner have a number of children together.

The woman said she had secured a protection order against the man previously and had complained to gardaí about him breaching the order.

“He said he was going to kill me if I didn’t drop the orders and the charges,” the woman said.

“He’s threatening to kill me and the people that I love ... He told me he was near someone close to me and was going to watch me suffer.

“He said he was going to burn me, take the kids, gut me like a pig and kill everyone I care about.”

Judge Furlong granted the woman an interim barring order and set a full hearing, which the man is expected to attend, for a later date.