West Cork man jailed for vicious assault on his mother who he told was 'going to die'

His mother suffered swelling to the back of her head as well as bruises, cuts and abrasions to her arms and legs

The man was sentenced to 10 months in prison on each charge to run concurrently. File picture: Dan Linehan

A Cork man who pleaded guilty to threatening to kill and assaulting his own mother when he returned home after a drinking binge has been sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Court presenter Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Kinsale District Court sitting in Bandon that the man aged in his late 20s was charged with one count of assault causing harm contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 and one count of threatening to kill contrary to Section 5 of the same act in relation to an incident on October 10, 2025.

Giving evidence, Garda Cormac Dineen told the court gardaí were called to a residence in West Cork at 10.20pm. When they got there they found the injured party, shaken and upset taking refuge in a neighbour’s house.

The court was told the injured party’s son had returned home earlier that evening in a highly intoxicated state and had become violent during an argument with his mother. 

The court heard that the accused threw his mother to the ground, punched her in the back of the head, dragged her across the floor, kicked and punched her and placed her in a choke-hold during which she found it hard to breathe.

The accused also threatened his mother telling her “you are going to die here tonight” before the violence stopped. Gda Dineen said footage from a front door video camera showed the woman leaving the house and her son laughing at her as she did so.

When gardaí arrived at the house the decision was taken to request the Armed Support Unit to assist in his arrest. Once they arrived, gardaí then forcibly entered the house where the man was found in his bedroom upstairs where he had to be pepper sprayed and restrained before being taken to a garda station. 

At the garda station he was found to be so intoxicated that he was not fit to be interviewed when he arrived. He was interviewed later when he told gardaí he could not remember anything after returning home by taxi. 

The man said he had been drinking “a lot” on the day in question and had taken cocaine on previous days but not on the day of the assault. The court heard that the injured party suffered swelling to the back of her head and bruises, cuts and abrasions to her arms and legs as a result of the assault.

Defence solicitor Éamonn Fleming said his client suffered from mental health issues and had been prescribed medication for depression and anxiety. He said  the accused had continued to drink alcohol and take drugs while on the medication which had led to “a spiral of violence” culminating in the assault on his mother.

Mr Fleming said the man had alienated himself from his family as a result of his behaviour and realises he needs to take responsibility for his behaviour. 

Mr Fleming said that while the accused was intelligent he “has this self destruct button that he keeps on pushing”, adding in his view “if he continues the way he is going we won’t just be talking about threats”. 

The court heard the accused had 18 previous convictions including two for assault. Judge Joanne Carroll said the facts of the case “speak for itself” and the level of violence the man inflicted on his own mother was shocking. 

He was sentenced to 10 months in prison on each charge to run concurrently. The sentences were backdated to October 13, 2025, since when he has been in custody. Recognisance for appeal was fixed in his own bond of €200.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.