Laois man restrained wife in bed and slapped her around the face

A man admitted restraining his wife in her bed and slapping her around the face while asking her who the breadwinner was. 

The Laois man (67), who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to a charge of assault causing harm at an address in Laois on February 16, 2024 at a sitting of Portlaoise District Court. 

Defence solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client had brought a letter of apology and a sum of €3,000 to court. 

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby produced a medical report and photographs of the injuries sustained in the assault. 

The woman gave evidence at the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. 

She recalled arriving home with her husband at 11pm and going to bed. She said her husband came into the bedroom and said “I won’t be ignored.” 

He climbed on top of her on the bed and pulled down the duvet and restrained her arms. 

“He proceeded then to slap me across the face on numerous occasions and he stated to me, who is the breadwinner in the house?”

She said the man continued asking “who puts bread on the table” as the assault continued. 

The man told her “I was useless at my job and he went on about the phone he had bought me.” 

The woman said she was frightened. “I kept agreeing with him because I felt blood dripping on my face,” she said. 

The woman said she gave up work after the assault and was now on illness benefit. She also left the man and hasn’t returned to the house. 

“Since the incident I am still on medication,” she said. 

“The medication I am on is for depression and anxiety,” she explained. 

Ms Fitzpatrick thanked the woman for coming to court. 

She said her client had gone through serious illness and had been hospitalised for a time prior to the assault. She said his stay in hospital coincided with the Covid restrictions and this had a negative impact. The man had been advised to get counselling but he hadn’t fully engaged. 

She said he had sought help and gone for counselling after the assault. 

Sgt Kirby said the defendant had no previous convictions. 

Ms Fitzpatrick asked the judge to take account of the plea and the fact that the defendant had cooperated with gardaí. 

“We did strike the injured party and certainly we are not proud of our behaviour,” she said. 

“I think just the red mist descended,” she said. 

Ms Fitzpatrick acknowledged the woman’s face had been “swollen and tender” after the assault. 

“I have no doubt it has taken its toll on her,” she said.  

Judge John Brennan noted the man was a retired farmer and he was on a state pension and “complying with a maintenance order.”

He spoke of “the sheer shock” of being assaulted in such a manner. He noted the woman had been restrained and prevented from defending herself. “The ongoing consequences are serious,” said Judge Brennan. 

“Clearly there is a breach of trust that has ongoing consequences for her,” he noted. 

Judge Brennan described it as an “extraordinary violent” act that “came out of the blue from nowhere” but he noted the man had no previous convictions. He also noted that he is dealing with his anger issues and that €3,000 was a considerable sum for the man.

He said had there been any previous convictions in relation to assault he would have jailed the man. He said there was only one charge before the court. “I have to contain myself to that one incident of assault,” said Judge Brennan. 

However, he ordered that the €3,000 compensation be handed over to the injured party and he bound the man to the peace for two years.