A woman fled the country in fear for her life after her ex-partner punched and kicked her before raining “full force” blows with a golf club in a “savage attack”, a court has heard.
Father of two Mark Conway (39) of Marine View, Athlone, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Kirsty Fitzpatrick (27), on February 16th, 2024, at his home address.
At Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday, Judge Keenan Johnson lambasted Conway, describing him as having “Jekyll and Hyde characteristics. Passive when sober, and when he is drunk, he is a menace, violent and a thug.”
He indicated he was considering a six-year sentence but adjourned finalising the case until November to obtain a probation report..
The victim who was “battered all over her body” watched the proceedings via video link.
In evidence, Garda Sheila Fitzgerald saidshe responded to an alert and went to Conway’s home, where she saw the woman was “visibly shaken”. She revealed Conway had assaulted her with a golf club and used a wooden floorboard.
They had lived on and off at the house where the accused resided with his father.
On the date of the attack he had been drinking heavily.
They went to bed and were sharing a pack of tobacco but he accused her of being a thief for taking some and told her to go back to her ex and accused her of texting him.
The court heard he “grabbed her face on her jaws with one hand and squeezed it”.
His father came up and pleaded with him to stop, but Conway punched her on the side of the face and verbally abused her.
Minutes later, he tried to cuddle her, but she pushed him away before he put his arm around her.
Conway punched her in the face, kicked her in the ribs and kicked her head as she begged him to stop.
He fetched a golf club, struck her on the right shoulder and kept swinging at her “full force” as she put her arms up to protect herself.
Gardaí arrived and Conway “burst” from a room and lunged at them until they used an incapacitant spray.
He was on bail for another assault on Ms Fitzpatrick, and that case is still before the District Court awaiting sentencing.
Ms Fitzpatrick had suffered severe bruising, flashbacks, trauma and insomnia. She told the court: “I thought I was going to die, he wrapped my hair around his hand, leaving no way of escaping”.
She said she had been in excruciating pain and suffered nerve damage to her left arm and talked about the mental scars that she thought would take years to heal.
The court heard that afterwards, Conway sent threats, putting her in constant fear. Ms Fitzpatrick recalled one of his messages said: “Gardaí could not protect me even if I changed my name or colour of hair, he would still find me, or if I set foot in Athlone.”
