Man threw microwave at his partner in Strandhill holiday caravan
COURT HEARS OF A VOLATILE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COUPLE WITH ABUSE OF ALCOHOL BEING A SIGNIFICANT FEATURE
A 56-year-old man who threw a microwave at his then partner cutting her head and breaking a kettle across her arm during a drunken row while holidaying in a caravan in Strandhill has had his sentencing adjourned at Sligo District Court where the victim said she would still like to have a future with him.
William Brannigan of Swift Hall, College Wood, Castleknock, Dublin was before the court charged with assaulting Leona Daly causing her harm, criminal damage to a rented caravan and the theft of €100 in cash belonging to Ms Daly at Strandhill Caravan Park on September 16 th 2019.
Sergeant Derek Butler indicated that a robbery charge was being withdrawn. Defending solicitor Mr Colm Conway said that the defendant was entering a plea to all other matters.
Ms Daly, who was in court, was told by Judge Kevin Kilrane that she was a victim and was entitled to be heard.
She read from a victim impact statement in which she described herself as being the person who knows the defendant best.
She went on to explain how alcohol misuse on both of their parts was a significant player in the breakdown of their relationship.
She said that Brannigan has since been living in his mother’s house and said that so many positives had come out of the incident, adding that she herself no longer drinks and attends outpatient clinics for alcohol misuse.
She said she had fallen into addiction and she does believe that redemption was possible.
She said Brannigan had never done anything as extreme to her prior to that incident.
She detailed that she was drinking heavily at the time and was grateful that this period was now over.
She said she would like to see the defendant engage in an anger management course and expressed how difficult the whole thing had been on both their families, including her parents and his mother who is now living in a nursing home.
She said she wanted to put it behind them, adding that everyone made mistakes and how she had no doubt that Brannigan had suffered but that she believed he made permanent changes to never let anything like this happen again.
Judge Kilrane enquired if they were still together and Ms Daly replied ‘No’, adding that she would love to have a future with him but he needed to change.
“He has a wonderful side when he’s not drinking,” she said.
The judge then asked how he assaulted her and she replied that he threw a microwave at her, which hit her on the top of her forehead and he hit her on the arm with a kettle.
She said the scar on her forehead has since gone down. She was taken to Sligo University Hospital and later released.
Sergeant Butler told Ms Daly that one thing he would like to say was that she was blameless, that no one deserved to be treated like this.
He added that he read that he hit her with such force that the kettle broke but she replied she couldn’t give an answer to that as there was so much alcohol.
Judge Kilrane asked if there was any other substance other than alcohol involved and she replied ‘No, just wine’.
The judge asked what Brannigan worked at and she said he had property which he rented out.
Mr Conway told the court that firstly he would like to outline on behalf of his client how extremely sorry he was to Ms Daly and how he wished to take the path that caused the least harm to her.
He said his client acted in a very, very bad and poor manner towards Ms Daly.
He said he was engaging in counselling services since, including those for alcohol and drug misuse.
He said the defendant hadn’t drank since Christmas and indicated that alcohol clearly was a major factor, although he was not trying to use that as an excuse.
His client had never been in trouble of any kind before and up until recently was the fulltime carer for his mother who had dementia and was now in full-time care.
Before the Covid-19 restrictions, he was visiting her daily.
He said Mr Brannigan was prepared to deal with the case in whatever way was necessary.
Judge Kilrane said that it was a rather unusual case in that the parties were in a volatile relationship and there was a lot of alcohol on both sides.
He said there were a number of worrying aspects to the case. One was that this was yet another assault by a male on a female.
This seemed to becoming a feature of society at this time, with serious assaults on partners and wives and so forth, with a number of cases recently.
He mentioned this case did precede Covid-19 and the lockdown.
Judge Kilrane said the parties were on holidays at the time and through alcohol the assault took place. He said there was a general volatility to the relationship.
He said it was positive that there was a guilty plea, adding that Brannigan was a man of considerable years and had no previous convictions.
He had expressed remorse and the victim had indicated that she was not totally blameless to the overall volatility of the relationship.
He said what that was saying was that there was a lot of alcohol on both sides and when you put volatility with alcohol, then you were dealing with a dangerous combination.
“Staying in a caravan by the seaside, there is not much room for distancing,” the judge added.
He said violence ensued and that throwing a microwave showed a degree of out of controlness on the part of the defendant.
“To grab a microwave and throw it indicated being out of control, overcome with anger and frustration”, he said.
He described it as a spur of the moment, a moment of madness propelled largely by the row and the alcohol consumed.
He said the victim said it was only alcohol but from what Mr Conway said there is counselling for other substances too.
He said Ms Daly indicates she would like to get back into a relationship with Brannigan and that was her decision to make.
He said rather than deal with the matter on the day, he was going to adjourn so that Brannigan could have a chat with himself to understand what he’s done.
“To use the vernacular, he’s not a bad man,” he added.
He adjourned sentencing until November 29 th, to have a report on his counselling, anger management, and method of dealing with alcohol.
Judge Kilrane asked Ms Daly if she had any difficulty meeting him on her terms and she replied she did not.
The judge said he would leave it between themselves as to if they are going to meet or receive phone calls.