Man who beat partner with golf club jailed for nearly four years

By Sonya McLean

A man who beat his former partner with a golf club outside her home, leaving her with extensive injuries, has been given a four-and-a-half-year sentence with the final eight months suspended.

Shane Gribbon (41) had given the woman a lift home when he went to the boot of his car, took out the golf club and began to beat her around the face and body with it.

The woman managed to escape and ran to a neighbouring house. Gribbon remained at the scene and used the golf club to smash the windows and mirrors on her father’s car while shouting out to her father: “Tell the bitch I am going to kill her.”

Garda Jason Doherty said the woman rang the emergency service while hiding from Gribbon at a petrol station nearby.

When gardaí arrived to assist her, they immediately took her to the hospital for treatment for visible injuries on her chest, neck and finger.

When they returned to her home, a search of the local area led to the discovery of a broken golf club on the footpath by the house.

Gribbon, of Navan Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial to assault causing the woman harm and criminal damage to her father’s car outside their Dublin home on March 13th, 2022. He has 27 previous convictions for offences including assault, criminal damage and arson.

Liam Dockery BL, prosecuting, said the woman later told gardaí that she and Gribbin had been arguing on and off that day after she told him that she did not want to see him again. She had met him, and he said he would drop her off before he launched into the attack after he arrived at her house.

Gribbon was later arrested at his home. He was charged in September 2022 and initially denied the charges. He pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial last January.

The woman read her victim impact statement into the record. She said she genuinely feared she was going to die that night and was afraid her parents would find her “in that state, covered in blood”.

“I will never forget the terror and pain as I was being repeatedly struck,” the woman continued, adding that she was in excruciating pain and fearing for her life.

She said she had extensive bruising and swelling, blackened and bloodshot eyes and fractured ribs in addition to cuts to her chest, neck and fingers. She said the simplest daily tasks were a struggle in the days after the attack.

She said she will never forget the pain and fear during the attack. She said the bruising to her head was so severe that she could not brush her hair for a week. She described struggling to breathe in the hospital due to her fractured ribs.

The woman said the pain would keep her awake at night, and she also suffered nerve damage, which led to numbness. She said she was left with permanent scarring to her chest and was left with a large cut to her finger due to using her hands in an attempt to shield her face during the assault.

“I was not fighting back; I couldn’t. I was just trying to survive,” she said.

She said she is currently on medication for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, has suffered severe anxiety and long periods of “deep depression”.

“There were points I felt I would not be able to make it through the court process,” the woman said, referring to the fact that Gribbon did not plead until the morning of his trial.

She said as he continued to deny the attack, “he was free on bail,” adding that “the court proceedings became an additional trauma”.

The woman said the physical scars were a constant reminder of the attack and will remain with her for the rest of her life.

She said she is deeply traumatised by the attack, which she said also impacted her family. She said she has become isolated.

“The fear I experienced has never truly left me. All I ever wanted was justice for what happened to me,” the woman said.

She described the attack as “unprovoked” and told the court that she didn’t believe Gribbon was remorseful.

Judge Martina Baxter commended the woman’s courage and bravery in escaping from Gribbon during the attack

“It is quite clear that she is a brave woman. She managed to escape him as he was swinging the golf club, she is a strong lady,” the judge said.

She noted that the fact that Gribbon issued a threat to the woman’s family after the attack and while damaging her father’s car was evidence that he “clearly had not concluded his threatening behaviour towards her”.

Judge Baxter said it was clearly an intentional and unprovoked assault.

“There was no justification for getting out of your car, going to the boot and raining down hits on a vulnerable, defenceless woman,” she said.

She noted that the woman was also not in a position to run to the safety of her own home because Gribbon remained there, damaging her father’s car.

Judge Baxter noted that a letter from Gribbon’s church serves as a character reference for him and spoke of his enthusiasm for rehabilitation, but made no reference to the fact that he is being sentenced for domestic violence.

Judge Baxter said the “existence” of an intimate relationship between Gribbon and the woman was an aggravating feature, describing the assault as “severe, intentional, aggressive and prolonged”.

She said the woman had “very powerfully and eloquently” described the long-standing impact the assault had on her.

Judge Baxter said a headline sentence of five years was warranted for the assault. She acknowledged his plea of guilty but said he was “essentially caught red-handed, and the evidence was overwhelming”.

She imposed a sentence of four and a half years with the final eight months suspended for 12 months on his release from prison.

Judge Baxter addressed the woman and wished her “the very best of luck to you and your family”.

Amy Dean BL, defending, said her client “snapped and made a terrible decision”. She said he has written a letter of apology that was not accepted by the woman.

Ms Dean said her client had a difficult childhood and became addicted to drugs from an early age. He also has a history of mental health issues.

Counsel said her client is now a member of a church and is engaging in counselling services.

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.