Cork woman received abusive texts while she was in ambulance after assault

 Gavin Cronin, aged 34, of Dromdubh, Macroom, County Cork, pleaded guilty to the charge of assaulting the woman at her home on Bun Na Sráide, Sleaveen Road, Macroom, County Cork on July 17.

Detective Garda Alan O’Riordan of Macroom garda station said the accused was in a two-year on/off relationship with the injured party and that on this occasion they were drinking heavily together and an argument broke out.

“He struck her in the side of the face and head a number of times, connecting with his fists,” Det Garda O’Riordan said.

There were two other men drinking with them that night and they hid in the toilet when the violent incident occurred.

“She pleaded with him to stop hitting her. He went outside. The gentlemen came out of the bathroom. Gavin Cronin came back in. She picked up plates and fired them in his direction to keep him out of the house.

“She picked up a wooden mallet to defend herself. He went to grab the mallet off her. He held it above his head, threatening her. He pushed her down on the ground. As she fell she broke her ankle,” Det Garda O’Riordan said.

 Interviewed by gardaí afterwards he accepted responsibility for the punching and his violent reaction but said he did not mean for her to have her ankle broken. Nevertheless, he accepted that he caused this by pushing her.

The victim said she did not accept Cronin’s apology. “I did not deserve this, no woman does,” she said in her victim impact statement.

Defence barrister Paula McCarthy repeated that the damage to the woman’s ankle was accidental but he accepted responsibility and wrote a letter of apology.

She said both parties were trying to deal with a tragic personal matter at the time and that things went off the rails that night, not helped by a considerable amount of alcohol.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of two years with the last six months suspended.