Woman ‘petrified’ following alleged assault in Laois

A judge ordered that a man who is accused of assaulting a woman is to stay out of County Laois as part of his bail conditions. 

The man (43), who has a Laois address and cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of assaulting a woman and causing her harm at an address in Laois on August 11, 2025. 

Garda Stephen Lynott gave evidence of arresting and charging the man who he said made no reply to the charge of assault causing harm. He objected to bail due to the serious nature of the charge and due to fears that the man mightn’t attend court. 

Garda Lynott said a woman made a complaint to gardai on August 12. She said the man had arrived at her home uninvited and begun accusing her of damaging a car. She said he had pinned her down and hit her a number of times before taking her phone and demanding she follow him to his house. When she got there the man handed back the phone and acted as if nothing had happened, Garda Lynott explained. 

He expressed concerns that the man might interfere with the witness if he was granted bail. He also expressed concern about the “serious and violent” assault the man was alleged to have perpetrated on the woman. 

Solicitor Michael Byrne said his client had attended voluntarily at the garda station in relation to the allegation. He said the man could spend up to two years in custody waiting for hearing if denied bail. 

Mr Byrne said his client was willing to abide by any bail conditions set down by the court, including that he reside outside of Laois and stay away from the complainant.

Garda Lynott said “last week when I contacted him and introduced myself he hung up on me.” He expressed his belief that the man wouldn’t answer bail. 

The complainant took to the stand and expressed her fears. She said she had been in a relationship with the man. They had been out for a few drinks but she left alone in a taxi as she felt he was becoming “agitated” on the night. 

She said the man later called to her house where he accused her of deliberately scratching his car. “He said, do you think this is funny,” she recalled. She told him she didn’t. 

“He pounced and he caught me by the neck and he kept hitting me into the side of the head,” she recalled. She said the man then took her phone. “He said get dressed and follow me down to my house,” she said. 

The woman said she was afraid not to do as asked and she followed him. She said when she arrived the man handed her back the phone and acted as if nothing had happened. 

The woman said she is now “terrified” after the event. “I am petrified because I live on my own and in the country,” she told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court.  “I keep waking up thinking it is going to happen again,” the woman said. 

She attended a hospital following the incident and underwent a CT Scan. She said she had bruising to her face, eye, neck and lumps on the side of her head. “They said I had soft tissue damage,” she said. 

Mr Byrne asked her if it would assuage her fears if the man lived outside of Laois. She said it would. 

Mr Byrne told Judge Susan Fay that his client is working outside of County Laois and has an address outside of the county where he can reside.  He said the man was willing to abide by conditions. 

Judge Susan Fay granted bail on strict conditions including that the man not enter Laois and have no contact directly or indirectly with the woman or any members of her family. She also ordered that he sign on daily at a garda station and surrender his passport and she banned him from licenced premises other than supermarkets and convenience stores. The case was adjourned back to Portlaoise District Court on November 10.