A 31-year-old father of five, who breached a protection order and assaulted his wife, was jailed for six months at Claremorris District Court this week.
Garda Luke Gray outlined that the wife of John McDonagh, 21 An Sruthan, Castlebar made a statement of complaint on January 7 this year in relation to assaults committed by McDonagh on January 2 and January 3.
Mrs Ina McDonagh said that on January 2 in the location of Staball Hill, Castlebar, McDonagh grabbed her cheeks with both hands and squeezed them. The following day McDonagh kicked her left thigh and punched her in the back of her head.
The court heard that a protection order had been put in place on December 22 2009. McDonagh had previously breached barring orders.
Solicitor for the defendant Aidan Crowley said that the first assault occurred following a dispute in the car where McDonagh said to his wife that he hoped that the dinner would be edible this time rather than having to put it in the bin, to which Mrs McDonagh told him to make it himself. Mrs McDonagh was then assaulted in the car in front of her children.
Mr Crowley said that the second incident occurred after Mrs McDonagh filled a bucket of water to clean the upstairs room, however the bucket overturned and water began to leak downstairs. McDonagh was angered and assaulted his wife. Again children were present when the assault took place.
The solicitor said that there has been a long history of abuse over a number of years and his client now accepts that the marriage is over and has moved out of the family home.
For breaching section 17 of the Domestic Violence Act Judge Mary Devins sentenced McDonagh to jail for three months. The defendant was also jailed for three months consecutively for one of the assault charges; the other assault charge was taken into consideration.
