She feels she is not being taken seriously — despite having a domestic violence order in place against him. She has feared for her life — and counsellor and domestic abuse expert Don Hennessy also has had concerns about her safety. Fiona [not her real name] says: 'As a domestic abuse survivor, this was violating and retraumatising to me. Don Hennessy believes that the private nature of family law cases provides a shroud of secrecy for perpetrators of domestic abuse. But she says that significant inconsistencies remain in garda responses to domestic violence.

Source: Irish Examiner February 23, 2026 11:30 UTC