Drunk mum hit son with beer can
ASSAULT: Gardai saw teen smashed in face
Thursday November 26 2009
A drunken mother who threw a full can of beer at her teenage son, hitting him full in the face has claimed that she was only trying to break up a fight between him and his brother.
The woman, who is in her late 30s, also slapped her son in the face and threatened to kill him -- in full view of gardai who had been called to the house.
A judge ordered that the HSE be notified about the incident, saying the woman had admitted to assaulting a minor.
Her solicitor, Kevin Tunney, told a court that the woman urgently needs medical help, as she attempted suicide in July and was in a coma for some considerable time.
Mr Tunney said the woman is sick, and he has urged her to see a doctor for her depression.
However, Mr Tunney said the woman refuses to get help as she is afraid that if prescribed anti-depressant tablets by her doctor she will take them all at once and overdose on them.
In the circumstances, a judge convicted and fined her €250.
The south Dublin woman, who cannot be named to protect her son, admitted before Tallaght District Court to assault at the family home in Tallaght on December 13, 2008.
Her son, who was uninjured, was only 16 at the time of the assault.
Sergeant Bernard Jones said gardai received a call shortly after 12 midnight to go to the woman's home in Tallaght.
The woman was shouting at her son, and in the presence of gardai she slapped him about the face. She then threw a can of beer at him, hitting him full in the face.
Sgt Jones said the woman also repeatedly said that she was going to kill the teenager.
Mr Tunney said the woman admitted she threw the beer can at her son, but she claimed she was just trying to break up a fight between her two sons.
hnews@herald.ie
- Eimear Cotter
