Assaulted vulnerable woman, 76

REPEATED ASSAULTS by a 64-year-old man on a vulnerable woman who offered him the shelter of her New Ross home were outlined at the District Court.

Before the court was Michael O’Shea whose address was given as 46 Nunnery Lane in New Ross, though in fact this was the home of the injured party, 76-year-old Mary Warren.

Judge John Cheatle heard how concerns were brought to the attention of the gardaí by a public health nurse.

On one occasion in June she had let O’Shea into the house a few hours before he got her out of bed at 3 a.m. and threw her own walking stick at her in a rage, leaving Ms Warren with a cut lip and a lump on her forehead.

Another time in the same month he struck the householder across the face with his hand and caused her nose to bleed.

On February 10, she was hit on the head by the defendant, this time with a hair brush, after O’Shea arrived at the house uninvited.

After the attack, the woman was so afraid that she stayed up and awake until 6.30 a.m.

A visiting care worker discovered that her clothes were bloodstained and raised the alarm.

O’Shea was found sobering up after drinking a bottle of whiskey and some wine, and he was arrested.

Solicitor Eric Furlong accepted that his client had a record of 44 previous convictions and pointed out that they were all drinking related.

Originally from Galway, O’Shea had come to the New Ross area to work as a civil servant.

He was suffering very badly from alcoholism, suggested Mr Furlong.

Judge Cheatle imposed concurrent four-month sentences for the three assaults, suggested that O’Shea had shown scant appreciation for the hospitality extended to him.