A young mother was kicked so hard after a romantic St. Valentine’s night out with her former boyfriend that he left a footprint of his shoe on her.
Danielle Kerrigan said she finds it difficult sometimes to look at her son because he reminds her of her former boyfriend who beat her black and blue.
Ms Kerrigan was left with a catalogue of horrific injuries after Eamonn Harkin set upon her at a house in Convoy.
Harkin, now 24, locked Danielle into the house and beat her for an hour and a half during the ordeal in 2010.
He spat in her face, called her a whore and then attacked her leaving her with extensive bruising and a suspected broken nose and toe.
Ms Kerrigan said Harkin put his hands around her neck, told her he wanted her to die and she said she thought she was going to die.
She only managed to call Gardai when Harkin, of St Eunan’s Terrace, Raphoe, went for a drink of water during the vicious and prolonged attack.
At the time Danielle was a student at Cavan Institute of Technology studying to become a prison officer.
Gardai arrested Harkin, a trained butcher at his parents home asleep on the sofa after drinking six points of beer and a litre of vodka.
The accused man told Judge John O’Hagan at Letterkenny Circuit Court that he was deeply sorry for all he had done.
He said he would never have any contact with his former girlfriend again.
George Harkin, a retired soldier and Eamonn Harkin’s father, said he blamed drink for what had led his son to attacking Ms Kerrigan.
Judge John O’Hagan said he wanted to reserve his judgement after admitting that he was “appalled” after viewing pictures of Ms Kerrigan’s injuries.
He said his plan was to remand Harkin in custody to prison for two weeks and then to make his judgement.