Woman in the Midlands who threatened to kill pregnant woman and her mother avoids jail

A woman who threatened to kill a pregnant woman and her mother has walked out of court with “a very lenient result”.

Caroline Donoghue (49), with an address in Cluain na Síbhe, Killashee, Co Longford, was initially charged with two counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to a mother and daughter during an incident in Edgeworthstown.

She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of affray and appeared in court last week, when facts were heard for the incident, which took place on January 7, 2019.

Detective Garda Brendan Lynn gave evidence of how, on that day, Ms Donoghue’s son had been a passenger in a vehicle, which had struck her nephew in Edgeworthstown.

As the man was being treated by ambulance personnel, Ms Donoghue arrived and shouted in the window of her sister’s car, in which the mother of the injured party’s pregnant girlfriend was sitting.

Ms Donoghue shouted that the girl “will not be pregnant for long, we will get her when she has the baby, I will kill her and I will kill you as well”.

The woman, who had very little English was “terrified” for her own safety and the safety of her daughter, the court heard.

Ms Donoghue had shouted that “when I get you in the right place, I’ll leave you and her dead” and, “don’t you worry, you’ll be got”, “when she has that b****rd, you’ll remember me, I’m leaving her dead”. She said she would “pull the head off her shoulders”.

The whole incident lasted between one minute and 80 seconds, the court heard.

When Ms Donoghue was questioned, she gave “a truthful narrative”, and confirmed the interaction had taken place, but denied there was any threat made.

Ms Donoghue has three previous convictions, including one for possession of a firearm and one for possession of ammunition. Those charges came before the court after this incident, and she received a sentence of three years, which was suspended for five years.

In a letter of apology furnished to the court, Ms Donoghue said there was “no intent” behind her words, and that she was “sorry from the bottom of my heart”.

Judge Jonathan Dunphy, remanded Ms Donoghue on bail to Tuesday, June 3, warning her to have a “quiet birthday” over the weekend.

When she reappeared, he said that this was “an unsavoury and unacceptable incident to happen in public”, but it was “a case of extreme over-reaction”.

He proceeded to impose a sentence of 18 months, which he “very reluctantly” suspended in full for two years on her own bond of €500, on the condition that she submit herself to the supervision of the probation service for two years, follow all directions and guidelines of the probation service, and have no inappropriate contact, direct or indirect, with the victims.

“I have no hesitation. If this lady runs a red traffic light, I’ll impose the whole sentence. She gets to leave here today, which is a very lenient result,” he concluded.