Woman fled country after ‘savage beating’ in Athlone with golf club and wooden plank

A woman who was subjected to a “savage beating” with a golf club and a wooden floorboard has said she will “never, ever, ever accept an apology” from her ex-partner who threatened and harassed her following the incident, causing her to flee the country.

Mark Conway (39), with an address at Marine View, Athlone, is facing a potential custodial sentence of six years for what Judge Keenan Johnson said was “an absolutely horrific and terrifying” attack on his former partner.

Finalisation of the sentence was put back to November to allow for a probation report, though Judge Johnson said “the only way I will see a probation report in existence is for risk assessment and to decide how much of the sentence should be suspended - if any”.

Mr Conway appeared at Mullingar Circuit Court charged with assault causing harm to his former partner, and production of an article during the course of the assault, namely a golf club and a piece of timber, on February 16, 2024. He pleaded guilty.

Garda Sheila Fitzgerald gave evidence of the incident, which saw the victim beaten with both a golf club and a wooden floorboard. Many of the blows landed while Mr Conway had the woman’s hair wrapped around his fist so she couldn’t escape.

Mr Conway’s own father tried to intervene in the assault and it was he who called the Gardaí after seeing his son beating the woman with the wooden board.

The woman told Gardaí she thought Mr Conway was going to kill her. She tried to calm him down at one stage by saying she loved him, but he just said "haha" and picked up a metal bar from the landing.

She barricaded herself in the bedroom and pulled the bed in front of the door. He was banging on the other side of the door before driving the iron bar through it, Garda Fitzgerald outlined.

Things went quiet after that, the court heard, and the woman heard doors banging downstairs before there was a knocking at the bedroom door which signalled the arrival of Gardaí.

Mr Conway had locked himself in a room, shouting abuse at Gardaí and, when they got the door open, he "hurled himself at Gardaí" who deployed pepper spray before arresting him and conveying him to Athlone Garda Station.

When he was interviewed the following day, he told Gardaí he had been drinking heavily and had no recollection of the night before.

He suggested the injured party was a liar and, when he was shown photos of her injuries, he still maintained he had no recollection of the incident but admitted those injuries hadn't been there before.

Gda Fitzgerald outlined to the court that Mr Conway has 21 previous convictions, including 15 for public order offences, two for criminal damage, one for burglary, two for theft, and one for possession of knives.

The court heard he was on bail at the time of the assault.

The court heard that the woman received significant injuries, including severe bruising to the arm she used to protect herself during the beating she sustained. Psychologically, she suffers severe anxiety and depression and still experiences insomnia and flashbacks from the event.

The emotional victim appeared via video link, because she was too terrified to attend court in person. In a victim impact statement, read out on her behalf in court, she said the “severe beating” with a golf club “nearly cost me my life”.

"I should've been dead. I have no doubt his intention was to kill me that day because he had threatened to,” she said.

She outlined that she still suffers from PTSD and flashbacks and said if it wasn't for her "sheer strength" and the fact she protected her head while he was beating her, she would've been dead.

"It could take years to get full feeling back in my arm", she said, adding that, even when the physical scars heal, the psychological ones won't.

She said she had to change her phone number because Mr Conway breached his bail conditions and continued to contact her. He continued to harass and threaten her, she said.

“I'm not in court today as I fled the country in fear,” she said, “he said if I changed my name or the colour of my hair, he’d still find me.”

“He said if I ever stepped foot in Athlone again, he’d tear me apart and that I’d always be looking over my shoulder,” she added.

Michael Cooney BL, for the defence, said his client wanted to apologise for his behaviour and hoped the injured party would accept it.

On video link, however, the woman said, “I will never, ever, ever accept it.”

Mr Cooney outlined that his client has a history of alcohol abuse and was in “a state of alcoholic blackout” when the incident took place.

The Athlone native is “deeply ashamed”, he said, suggesting that the court order a probation report before finalising sentence.

"The only way I will see a probation report in existence is for risk assessment and to decide how much of the sentence should be suspended - if any," said Judge Connolly.

Mr Cooney stressed that his client did not have a history of assault charges. He also said there was no “realistic” chance of compensation.

“The best that can be said is he's remorseful,” he said, adding that his client has promised to stay away from the victim and that he “wants to address his alcohol issues”.

The court heard that Mr Conway is a father of two and grandfather of one. He is in contact with his eldest daughter, who recently gave birth to a child of her own. However, he has not met that child due to his incarceration.

Judge Johnson, turning to sentence, noted that the woman was “battered all over her body” and that this was a case of “a savage attack perpetrated on an intimate partner”, which he said was “extremely, extremely serious” and “pure thuggery”.

“This type of domestic violence needs to be called out,” he said, referencing the victim impact statement where the injured party stated she suffers “severe anxiety and depression” as a result of the assault.

"The physical injuries were significant, but the psychological injuries are worse," he said, noting the woman had fled the country out of fear and as a result of harassment from her former partner following the incident.

“This assault had a life-changing impact on her,” said Judge Johnson.

“When he was arrested, he had no memory of the incident and then he had the audacity to accuse the victim of lying when it is quite clear everything she said was true.”

Among aggravating factors were the fact that Mr Conway had continued to harass the victim, that he was on bail for another assault charge at the time, that no restitution was made and that he has significant previous convictions, including public order matters.

He noted that all previous convictions had stemmed from “quite a serious drinking problem”, referring to Mr Conway as a “Jekyll and Hyde character - he’s passive when he’s sober, but when he’s drunk, he’s a menace and a thug”.