A woman who told a court her husband chased her through their home with a machete “screaming that he would kill me” has secured an interim barring order against him.
She also told Dublin District Family Court that the man pushed her against a door in the house with such force it “came off the hinges”.
In a sworn statement, she said her husband had intimidated and put her in fear for a number of years but the relationship remained in place “due to his financial control”.
“He also controlled my every move, in and out of the house, and my phone,” she said.
The situation “escalated” last month, the court heard, when her husband got into an argument with her brother over the phone, who then came to their home to resolve it.
“I took the children away as I knew how aggressive my husband could react. After my brother left, my sister stayed with me because I was afraid,” she said.
“As soon as she left my husband became violently aggressive, screamed at me, pushed me against the door with such force that it came off the hinges. He then grabbed a machete and chased me through the house screaming that he would kill me.”
The woman said she was “terrified for my life and for my children” and took them to stay with an extended family member overnight.
“Since then the situation at home has remained extremely intense,” the woman added. “My husband continues to scream at me in front of the children. I am terrified for my safety and deeply concerned about the psychological impact this is having on my children.”
Judge Gerard Furlong asked the woman if she had contacted gardaí about the incident but she said she was scared to.
He granted an interim barring order on an ex parte basis, where just one side is represented in court, which excludes her husband from the family home for eight days, and from watching or being near it.
A full hearing, which the woman’s husband is expected to attend, was set for a later date.
Furlong said he did not believe a protection order would be “enough” or “sufficient” based on what the woman had told the court.
In a separate case, a woman secured a protection order against her former partner after she told the court how he threw a bottle of wine at her face which fractured her tooth.
The court heard the couple were in a relationship for a number of years. The woman said the man had left her with injuries on several occasions, including bruising and dislocated fingers and that he had tried to choke her “on a few occasions”.
She said he had addiction issues and used alcohol, cocaine and tablets and that the “abuse is much worse when he is under the influence”.
The woman said that recently the man had thrown a bottle of wine at her face after he had thrown her across the room.
“He was dragging me around by my hair. He bounced the phone off my body,” she said. “My nose was bleeding very heavily. The nose bleeding didn’t stop for about two hours, it was that bad and I eventually got out of the house but he managed to get me again and kicked me in the head and pulled my hair.”
Furlong said he would grant a protection order “without hesitation” on an ex parte basis, which states the man is not to threaten or use violence, put the woman in fear through his words, deeds or actions and not to stalk or watch where she lives.
A full hearing, which the man will be expected to attend, was set for a later date.
The judge also advised the woman to consider making a complaint to gardaí about the most recent “very serious assault” which had led to “serious injuries”.