A Raphoe man who kicked his girlfriend so hard after a St Valentine’s Night out that he left his footprint on her skin has been found guilty of attacking her new boyfriend.
Eamonn Harkin beat Danielle Kerrigan black and blue for 90 minutes and only stopped to get a drink of water.
He tried to choke her and beat her and gave her a suspected broken nose and toe.
Harkin, 24, escaped jail after being convicted of the assault in February, 2010 for which he served 240 hours community service.
Harkin, from St. Eunan’s Terrace, was in court again facing charges that he assaulted William O’Donnell, Mr Kerrigan’s new boyfriend.
Ms. Kerrigan, who had been studying to become a prisoner officer at Cavan Institute of Technology, told the court that she had been in a Letterkenny nightclub with her boyfriend and friends when she met Harkin.
He persuaded her to let him go home with them to Flaxfields, Convoy in November 2010 after he threatened to harm their son.
They shared a taxi back to their house and they “roared and shouted abuse at each other” on the way back, she said.
When they got to her home Harkin locked the door and took her keys. She said they ended up in the bathroom and when she heard William coming back, Harkin told her to “get rid of him”.
“I went to the front door and I gave Willie a big hug and I tried to tell him who was there and I asked him for help,” she said.
Mr. O’Donnell told the court that after Danielle hugged him he heard footsteps in the background and Harkin came out with his two fists clenched and punched him in the face.
Harkin denied the assault when he appeared at Letterkenny District Court and said he and Ms. Kerrigan had kissed when they went back to her home.
Harkin’s solicitor, Michael Shiel, said Harkin had lost his job as a butcher and people in his local area “don’t want to know him” after his conviction.
Judge Paul Kelly fined Harkin €250 for assault and €200 for failing to give his name and address to Gardai. He was also bound to the peace for two years.