'It's a one-off' - man subjected partner to horrifying assault
In Garda custody, Mackessy put "all the blame" on the woman, Waterford Circuit Court heard.
A man has been remanded in custody pending his sentencing for carrying out a terrifying assault on his partner.
Anthony Mackessy, (41), with an address given as 2 Seanachaí, Dungarvan, appeared at Waterford Circuit Court before Judge Eugene O'Kelly.
He had previously pleaded guilty to assault contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
The court heard how on the night of January 13, 2024, Mackessy and his partner were socialising at an establishment in Abbeyside, Dungarvan. Throughout the evening, Mackessy drank and displayed jealously towards his partner, accusing other men of looking at her and following them into the toilets.
He grew more aggressive and called his partner derogatory names like "whore" and "bitch" and telling her to "f**k off". He stormed off and later shouted at her "look at the state of you, I warned you".
Later inside a car, he elbowed her in the chest and hit her across her face.
After they arrived to his address, Mackessy subjected her to a prolonged assault, constantly hitting her, grabbing her by the neck and verbally abusing her. At one point, he held a pink serrated bread knife up to her neck. He shouted at her, "That's it I'm going to kill you now."
She tried to call for help by screaming in the hope that neighbours could hear. She pleaded for him to stop hurting her and to think of his children. She tried multiple times to make a call on her phone. Mackessy smashed her iPhone on her face.
He fell asleep at different points of the ordeal, but when the victim tried to move he would immediately awaken and threaten her.
She asked for his phone to call her father about an unrelated matter. Mackessy gave her his phone but kept watch over her. She also found out through this phone that Mackessy had been cheating on her.
As she was on the phone to her father, the victim screamed that Mackessy was abusing her. He grabbed the phone off her, and took off in his car.
Gardaí quickly attended the scene and brought her to hospital. They took photographs of the victim's injuries. She had extensive bruises all over her body. Mackessy returned to the address two days later, banging on the door and shouting, at which point Gardaí were alerted and he was detained.
In Garda custody, Mackessy put "all the blame" on the woman.
The court heard that Mackessy works for the HSE as a pharmaceutical porter at University Hospital Limerick. He has five previous convictions, all related to road traffic offences.
The victim gave her impact statement in person, saying: "I'm glad that Anthony pleaded guilty and did not want to draw it out." She said that two weeks after the attack, they became engaged and he "promised that it would never happen again".
Despite the promises, the victim said that the events of the night continue to haunt her, and that she lives with a lingering fear that Mackessy could attack and eventually kill her. She said that she had been "degraded, stripped of my dignity". The woman explained that she had lost family and friends because of the ongoing relationship.
She said: "I felt humiliated, distraught, lost but the heart wants what the heart wants. I'm a very sentimental person. There was a photo of my late mother on my phone. [But] Some people have it so much worse."
She referred to her injuries as "only cuts and bruises" but said that the "emotional damage stays".
Mackessy reportedly said of the attack: "It's only Section 3, it's very minor, it's a one-off."
Mackessy's defence barrister said that his client was "apologetic" towards the victim and was being assessed by the MEND (Men Ending Domestic Violence) programme.
Judge O'Kelly said that the statement was "the most extraordinary victim impact statement that I have ever heard", likening it to "a love letter from a broken person". He questioned how much remorse Mackessy must feel if, by the victim's statement, he minimised the severity of his assault and its impact.
Before retiring, Judge O'Kelly warned that Mackessy can expect a "lengthy custodial sentence" for his attack. Mackessy will be sentenced next month.
According to Women's Aid, over one in three women in Ireland have experienced psychological, physical and/or sexual abuse from an intimate partner. On average, it can take up to seven times for a victim of abuse to ultimately leave an abusive relationship.
