A mother who fled home with her children on Christmas Day after her “extremely drunk” husband became angry over a Christmas jumper has obtained a protection order against him.
Her adult daughter, who also got a protection order, said her father “sees no problem with his drinking” but he “constantly explodes” and previously assaulted her mother.
“We have to walk on eggshells all the time, he can become the angriest person in a matter of seconds,” she said.
Her mother said her husband is “a good man” when not drinking but started to drink again on December 23rd, having not done so for months.
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On Christmas Day, he got angry, including over a Christmas jumper, became very aggressive and told her and the children to “f*** off”, she said.
She and the children packed bags for two days but, when she got into the car, he tried to take the keys from her, said it was “my car”, and became aggressive. Her daughter called gardaí, who arrested him. She and the children left and stayed away for two days, she said.
Her husband previously threatened to strangle her and pushed and slapped her. “I’m scared of him when he drinks,” she said.
The women were among about 20 applicants who sought orders, most on an ex parte basis (one side only represented), under the Domestic Violence Act at Dublin District Family Court at Dolphin House on Friday.
Alcohol and drug misuse, and mental health issues, were factors in many applications.
One woman who got a protection order against her husband said he is an alcoholic who also abuses drugs. He was placed in intensive care after falling on a floor while “out of it on drugs” and was later moved to a regular ward but discharged himself on Christmas Eve and started doing drugs again, she said.
He spends all his money on drink and drugs, there is none for her and their child, and he is “destroying our lives”, she said. “I can’t live like this any more.”
A tearful young woman who said she feels it is “too unsafe” to have her baby around her partner due to his drug use was refused an interim barring order but got a protection order.
Her partner was in recovery when she met him but is back using drugs, including cocaine, she said. She has left the apartment on occasions because of fear for the baby, who is just weeks old, because of his “erratic” behaviour, she said.
She returned once to find him passed out and he has threatened suicide on a number of occasions. “This has been going on for months,” she said, in tears.
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