A MAN who stamped his foot on the head of his partner six times was jailed for 12 months with the last five suspended this week at Tallaght District Court.  Judge Patrick Brady told the court that he found Shane Houlihans evidence  “exaggerated, contrived and evasive”.

Houlihan aged 30 with an address at Castle Park, Tallaght pleaded not guilty to contravening a protection order at the above address on October 31 2004.  When the case was first called the injured party Adrienne Murphy told the Court that she did not want to proceed with the charge.  When the case was called again Ms Murphy said she wanted the case to proceed.  Ms Murphy told the court that on the above date she had gone with Houlihan her partner of three years for a drink.  On returning home they had a discussion about their house, she went upstairs to get clothes for their child and Houlihan threw her to the floor.

She said “he raised his foot and stamped on my head six times.  I went downstairs, I threw a glass across the room to get Shane away from me.  I went into the kitchen to get the phone to ring the Gardai .  Shane smashed my phone off the floor”. 

Ms Murphy said she left the house and went to a garage on the Greenhills Road where an attendant called the gardai.  Under cross examination from Houlihans counsel John Flemming BL, Ms Murphy denied that she threw the mobile at Houlihan.  She told Mr  Flemming “I was told that if I went ahead today I would loose my house”.  Judge Brady asked “Who told you that” Ms Murphy replied “Shane”  Garda Ciaran Moroney said that on the above date he observed that Ms Murphy had red marks on her neck.  Houlihan said that Ms Murphy had thrown the glass first and then gone upstairs , he denied stamping on her head and said that he sat on her to calm her down.  He said that in the past he had been “stabbed, bitten punched and hit by objects” by Ms Murphy.

Judge Brady said that it was a particularly serious breach of a protection order”.  He added “The court will not tolerate gratuitous violence particularly in a domestic situation.”  He fined Houlihan €750 and sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment with at least five months suspended for 36 months. 

He added that he had heard sworn evidence that a witness had been intimidated before the trial and directed that the Gardai investigated the matter and prepare a file for the DPP.