Woman beaten by her partner described him as 'a monster' and feels 'lucky to be alive'

By Isabel Hayes and Sonya McLean

A woman who was badly beaten by her partner has described him as “a monster” and said she feels “lucky to be alive”.

Lee Byrne (28) of Termon Court, Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to the woman at his home on October 25th 2025.

He has 82 previous convictions, including offences of robbery, burglary, assault causing harm, false imprisonment and criminal damage. Byrne was on bail at the time of this offence and is currently serving a sentence for this.

The court heard that Byrne repeatedly kicked and punched the woman, at times when she lay on the ground.

She described to gardaí “a big white bottom shoe coming at me – all his kicks were to the head and his main aim was to the head”.

Byrne was later arrested and photographs were also taken of cuts to his hands. The garda confirmed that was also blood on his feet, bruising to his hands and blood under his finger nails.

He was interviewed but he suggested that someone else had attacked the woman and he had encouraged her to go to hospital for treatment.

In a victim impact statement, read into the record by Garda Sean McGreevy, the woman said that she was left with a swollen jaw and concussion after she said Byrne had “beat me very badly”.

Injuries

She said due to “persistent concussion syndrome”, she has been left with constant headaches, dizziness and blurred vision and can’t go without painkillers.

The woman said she could not eat for nine weeks due to the swelling in her jaw. She said she was hospitalised more than 20 times “as a direct result of the assault” and is on medication to prevent seizures.

She is also on anti-anxiety medication.

She said she was terrified to go outside for the first couple of weeks after the assault and was mortified due to her facial injuries.

She experiences flashbacks, was unable to continue with a course she was doing and had no social life for nine months.

“Lee has taken all that away from me. Lee has changed my whole life for the worse. Lee is a monster – it disgusts me what he did,” she continued before adding that she feels “lucky to be alive”.

Judge Elma Sheahan imposed a term of five years with the final year suspended on strict conditions, including that Byrne engage with the Probation Service for 12 months and undergo any course as recommended by them, including a programme for violence against women.

She said this sentence must be consecutive to the term Byrne is currently serving.

Judge Sheahan said she had taken into account the fact that the assault took place in the context of an intimate relationship.

Pervious convictions

She said Byrne had a history of serious convictions and said the woman’s victim impact statement “lays bare the trauma that continues in her life once the violence stopped”.

Judge Sheahan said it was clear from the photographs of the woman’s injuries that “one does not require broken bones to suffer significantly”.

She took into account Byrne’s early plea of guilty, which saved the woman from having to give evidence at trial, his apology and the fact that he is on an enhanced regime in custody.

Judge Sheahan said medical reports following a psychiatric assessment of Byrne suggest that he suffered hallucinations in the context of having taken too much methadone.

Gda McGreevy told John Gallagher BL, prosecuting, that Byrne had been in “a romantic relationship” with the woman at the time. They had a disagreement that night about what they were going to do for the evening.

A dispute arose between them while they were out in Dublin City Centre and the woman made plans to go and stay elsewhere but he convinced her to stay with him and they returned to his apartment.

The garda said in Byrne’s home the argument continued and Byrne grabbed the woman’s phone and threw it off the ground several times causing it to break before he started to argue with her over money.

He began to hit the woman in the face and head with closed fists. She later told gardaí he knocked her to the floor and continued to “kick me everywhere”.

She said the first attack lasted a few minutes and she was screaming and crying on the floor, calling out for another person who had been living there and asking them to call the gardaí. He then began kicking her again.

Byrne gave her back money that they had been arguing over and referred to her as “a rat” suggesting that she should not report the assault to the gardaí, however the woman immediately reported it to the gardaí and was treated in hospital.

The garda agreed that the woman’s injuries were “quite graphic” and provided photographs to the court. He confirmed that the most significant injuries were to the eye and lip area, but said she had multiple cuts over her entire face.

She had an x-ray but nothing was broken.

Rebecca Smith BL, defending, said that her client has a history of psychiatric issues relating to his drug addiction. She said he began taking drugs as a 12-year-old because of something that “happened him as a young child”.

She asked the court to take into account her client’s plea of guilty and expression of remorse in a letter which he had written for the court.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.

Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.