A woman from southern Africa living in temporary accommodation in a hotel secured an emergency protection order against her husband, who lives with her, when she appeared at the Dublin District Family Court on Friday.
The woman, who attended the court with the couple’s young child, said her husband had stopped speaking to her on Monday when he misinterpreted something he saw on her phone, and on Thursday he pushed her and threatened to beat her.
On another occasion he had stopped talking to her when she wanted to start in education “and he just wasn’t comfortable with me starting school.”
Asked by Judge John Brennan if the man had ever threatened their child, the woman said no. “That’s the only person he cares about now,” she said.
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Things are in a much better place, thank god. Without the help of the justice system, I wouldn’t be where I am
Two elderly men and one elderly woman appeared separately, and each secured protection orders against adult children.
The woman, who has a chronic medical condition, said her son, who sometimes drinks and sometimes “smokes weed”, had been turning up outside her home and upsetting her since he had got out of prison and she couldn’t sleep. “I love my son,” she said. “It’s just his temperament.”
A man who lives alone showed the judge CCTV footage of his adult daughter calling to his home, banging on the door, and hurling abuse when he wasn’t there. “She was carrying on and the way she spoke was disgraceful,” said the man, who hadn’t seen his daughter in years. “I think she has mental problems.”
A man who lives with his wife and their two adult sons secured a protection order against one of the sons, who had mental difficulties and was on medication but had violent outbursts when he started drinking, “especially on Thursdays when he gets paid.”
A recent incident had involved the man shouting, screaming and hurling plates on the floor, he said. The son uses abusive language against his mother to try to provoke him, the father said. “Ignoring him is the hardest thing to do.”
A young woman, who said she had mental health issues but was a good mother, secured a temporary protection order against the father of her youngest child. He had a cocaine problem and had been threatening her and threatening to take her child from her.
“He told me the damage he would do to me, he would be in prison for 25 years for (it),” said the woman, who has another child by a different father. “He told me he is going to kill my mother as well.”
She was carrying on, and the way she spoke was disgraceful. I think she has mental problems
A man who had been living in accommodation for homeless people with his wife and their children secured a temporary protection order against the woman, who he separated from last year. He now has a place of his own and a new partner. “She doesn’t like it,” he said. “I’m waking up every morning with abusive messages from her.”
He said that before they had separated, she had threatened him a few times, on occasion with broken glass. “She’s only a small little thing,” he said, “but still, there’s no need for it.”
A woman who had a protection order against her adult son made a successful application to have the order discharged, as her son, who did not live with her, was no longer drinking or on drugs and had a girlfriend. “Things are in a much better place, thank god,” she told Judge Brennan. “Without the help of the justice system, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
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