Man accused of non-fatal strangulation of ex-partner in Donegal remanded in custody

A man accused of the non-fatal strangulation of a woman in County Donegal has been remanded in custody.

The accused man was brought before a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court on Saturday afternoon.

The man, who is in his 20s and cannot be named for legal reasons, is facing several charges, including the non-fatal strangulation of a woman who is his ex-partner.

The man was brought before a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court on Saturday afternoon.

Garda Rachel Carlin gave evidence of arresting the man on January 16 at 9.27pm. He was charged with four offences at 12.33am on January 17 and made no reply to any of the charges.

At 12.42pm on January 17, the man was further charged with another two offences. Again, he made no reply when the charges were put to him.

Sergeant Michael Devlin told the court that there were objections to bail.

Garda Carlin said that a woman contacted the Gardai on January 15 reporting issues with an ex-boyfriend. 

During an incident while she was attending a premises in the Letterkenny area on that date, the man was alleged to have also been present and was shouting her name, When she went to speak with him, it is alleged that he pushed her and bit her. When Gardai spoke with her, teeth marks were visible on her hand while there were also marks on her neck and chest.

Garda Carlin said CCTV had been downloaded and is available.

While she was speaking to Gardai about this incident, the woman also disclosed further allegations against the man. 

She alleged that she was visiting the man’s home on December 21, 2025 when he smashed a mirror with his hands, causing it to break. The woman attempted to flee the property, but alleged that she was pulled back into the house, where the man threatened to kill her.

She told Gardai that he had told her: “If I kill you, I will go to jail for years. Your death will be on my hands.”

The man was alleged to have put his hands around her neck and applied pressure. At this stage, he was holding her legs against two chairs in the kitchen of the house. 

When asked about the incident alleged to have occurred on December 21, the man told Gardai that it was “playful fighting”. He did, however, make full admissions in relation to the incident on January 15.

He was charged that he did intentionally or recklessly cause the woman to believe on reasonable grounds that she was likely to be immediately subjected to strangulation or suffocation. The charge is contrary to section 3A (1) (b) and 3 (3) of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 (as inserted by section 21 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2023.

He was also charged with damaging property, to wit, a mirror, intending to damage any property or being reckless as to whether any property would be damaged and intending by the said damage to endanger the life of the woman or being reckless as to whether her life would thereby be endangered. The charge is contrary to section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991.

In relation to the alleged incident on January 15, 2026, he was charged with assaulting the woman and causing her harm, contrary to section 3 (1) and 3 (2) of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 as amended by section 20 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2023. He was also charged that he did, without lawful excuse, damage property, namely a hair clip, contrary to section 2 (1) of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991.

The man was further charged with handling stolen property. He was charged that he did have one Dior Sauvage aftershave and one Tommy Hilfiger aftershave, worth approximately €125, which was stolen or was reckless as to whether it was stolen or not., The charge is contrary to section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.

The court was told that Gardai received a report of a theft on December 13, 2025. A man alleged that a male he met on a dating app came to his home and had taken two bottles of aftershave. The bottles were recovered following a search of his home on December 15, 2025 and the accused man made admissions.

The man was also charged that, on December 15, 2025, he had unlawfully in his possession a controlled drug, cannabis, contrary to section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1997 and contrite to section 27 (1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977 as substituted by section 6 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984. 

Sergeant Devlin said that there would be “great concerns’ for the safety of the woman if the man was granted bail. He said the man is a regular cannabis user who has had issues with alcohol and has “an extremely chaotic lifestyle”.

The alleged victim in the case told the court: “I want my safety. When coming to town I was so afraid.”

The woman said the man was “drinking too much” and “became a different person” and added: “I tried my best, but he didn’t listen”.

The woman, who said she now gets nervous when around the man, told Judge Emile Daly: “I only want my safety…I need protection from him”.

The court heard that there is a protection order in place.

Sergeant Devlin said the State’s position remained the same and said the man has been deemed “high risk” by a Garda Superintendent.

The man’s solicitor, Mr Rory O’Brien, interjected and said: “What is this commentary. What is going on here. I don’t know where this is coming from. I have never heard of that. This court has been misled enough by the Gardai.”

Sergeant Devlin reiterated his belief that there was a possibility of reoffending if the defendant was granted bail.

Citing case law, Mr O’Brien argued that bail could not be refused merely because a witness or An Garda Síochána were concerned about interference.

“This is miles short of what could be considered,” he said. “A decision to refuse bail is based purely on factual nexus. No factual nexus has been put before you.”

Mr O’Brien said his client would have “no difficulty” in staying away from the alleged injured party. He said strict conditions could be imposed on the man and added: “Otherwise, the State is saying that a charge is enough to remand anyone in custody”.

Judge Daly said the man, who enjoys the presumption of innocence at this stage, is in custody on a number of charges, most notably allegations of assault of a serious nature to an injured party with whom he was involved in a relationship.

Judge Daly said that the evidence heard was enough to refuse bail. The man was remanded in custody to appear via video link before a further sitting of Letterkenny District Court for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Mr O’Brien added: “I would ask that we get directions with as much speed as possible.”

Legal aid was granted to Mr O’Brien.