Mother-to-be punched by man who jeered ‘boo hoo’

A MAN with 21 convictions punched a mother-to-be ‘very hard’ in the stomach and said, ‘boo hoo, you’re pregnant,’ a court heard yesterday.

Bernard McGrath has admitted the unprovoked attack on Barbara O’Beirne, who was 23-weeks pregnant.

He left her in complete shock and pain and she could not feel her baby moving, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

She struggled to a nearby hotel and then to Holles Street hospital, where she was scanned to check on the baby.

In a victim impact statement, Ms O’Beirne said a punch in the stomach is every pregnant woman’s worst nightmare. The attack left her vulnerable and scared, but thankfully she gave birth to a healthy girl a couple of months later.

McGrath, 27, who is homeless, admitted assaulting her on Burgh Quay, Dublin city centre, on November 23 last year. The court heard Ms O’Beirne had left work at around 5pm and was crossing the road with a colleague when McGrath ran out and began shouting at cars who were beeping at him.

Garda Niall Reilly said: ‘The defendant then turned and faced Ms O’Beirne and punched her very hard in the stomach.’

McGrath then said to her: ‘Boo hoo, you’re pregnant.’ Ms O’Beirne described McGrath as ‘a danger to people on the streets’ but hoped he received help for his mental issues.

The court heard McGrath, who is schizophrenic, had been taking his medication while in custody. His 21 other convictions are in the District Court.

Judge Terence O’Sullivan described the attack as a ‘deeply cowardly and bizarre incident’. He said it was very fortuitous that Ms O’Beirne’s baby was unharmed, and sentenced McGrath to three years with the final nine months suspended on the condition that he engage fully with the probation services.