76-year-old chef allegedly called his partner a ‘bitch’ after incident at home

A CHEF called his partner a “bitch” and said “all Irish women are bitches” a court heard.

The 76-year-old man, who cannot be named, appeared before Tallaght District Court, facing a charged of contravening a Protection Order with his ex-partner, a woman in her 60s, stemming from an incident at the couple’s family home in Tallaght on February 7, 2024.

Garda Niamh Doyle told the court that the injured party, made a complaint to gardai straight after the alleged incident, in which the court heard the man followed her from the sitting room and into the kitchen, calling her a “bitch”, “all Irish women are bitches” and “vicious” putting her in fear.

The court heard the couple were in a relationship and had three sons, who are in their 30s.

Taking to the stand, the woman, who appeared with the assistance of a support worker, said that the man was “screaming and shouting at me”, that she was “terrified” and that “nobody has the right to be called a bitch.”

It was alleged that the man followed the woman to Tallaght Garda Station, waiting outside for her after she reported the incident to gardai.

This was later denied by the man, who said he was at the shops across the road from the garda station and happened to cross paths with the woman.

Appearing with the aid of a Spanish interpreter, the man was asked by Judge John Brennan what language he spoke.

It transpired through questioning that the man spent the first 13/14 years of his life in Morocco, before moving to Spain and then to Ireland 37 years ago, where he worked as a chef for an Italian business.

Judge Brennan asked the man how did he not learn to speak English despite being in Ireland for a long time.

Taking to the stand the man denied calling the woman a “bitch” or that “all Irish women are bitches.”

“She hate me, want me out the house. I did not call her bitch. She has been insulting me for 35 years. She put all the children against me,” said the man.

Defence solicitor Ethan Foley said the burden of proof was very high for a case of this nature and that his client was in his 70s and has no previous convictions.

Pleading with the court for leniency, Mr Foley said the allegations were at the lower end of the scale, not to take away from the seriousness of the charges, but that there was no threats of violence, this is one of the milder cases the court has seen and that his client was essentially being pushed out of the family home.

The court heard once the man secures accommodation he will be moving out of the family home.

Judge Brennan applied the Probation Act.

Funded by the Local Courts Reporting Scheme