Father “rammed” his ex-partner’s car with children on board

A Dublin father has been refused bail after claiming he “rammed” his former partner's car with a motorbike as she tried to drive to nursery just two weeks after a “vicious” attack on her sister.

The unemployed man in his thirties, who reportedly boasted about having “generous friends”, cannot be named for legal reasons.

He appeared before Judge William Aylmer at Dublin District Court on Saturday and was charged with a series of incidents over the past three weeks.

The man, a father, is charged with criminal damage, assault and violating a protective order. His name cannot be disclosed due to reporting restrictions under the Domestic Violence Act.

Kelly McKiernan, Garda in Store Street, objected to bail, saying the latest incident occurred when his former partner went to drop the children off at kindergarten.

It is alleged that the defendant shouted and threatened them while riding on a motorcycle and “rammed their car several times”, causing fear and terror among the children.

The woman was “shocked as she tried to protect the others and herself,” said the judge.

The Garda alleged that the accused had carried out a brutal attack on his former partner's sister approximately two weeks earlier.

When the woman opened the door, he allegedly “spat in her face and punched her in the face,” causing an injury that required surgery.

It was claimed that one of her children “tried to defend their mother” and an ambulance had to be called.

The court accused the woman of threatening her as he left that he would “come back, throw acid in her face and burn down her house.”

At the bail hearing it was stated that CCTV footage existed, but defence counsel Mervin Harnett put it to the Garda that his client could not be identified on the footage. The Garda did not accept this claim.

One day after this incident, the man's former partner obtained a protection order.

The plaintiffs were in court but were not required to give evidence, and the Garda told the court they were “traumatised”.

She also expressed concerns that he would not appear in court because he had told her he planned to go to Spain for a month.

However, he did not have a job. It is alleged that he told police, who questioned him about his “lavish lifestyle”, that he had “generous friends”.

The officer agreed with the defense that the man was presumed innocent.

The judge accepted that the Garda had established that the refusal of bail was necessary to prevent the commission of a further offence and rejected the man's application to be released pending trial.

However, there was no evidence in court of any other source of income and he was granted free legal aid. The defendant, who has not yet confessed, did not answer when charged at Store Street police station and remained silent throughout the hearing until the end when, when granted legal aid, he said “Thank you, your honour”.

He will perform again next week.