A FORMER soldier was jailed for six years after being convicted in Carlow District Court on Friday of placing his former partner under coercive control, threatening to kill her and falsely imprisoning her.

Gavin Doran (39) had already pleaded guilty to assaulting his then partner Nicole Nolan at her home in Olive Crescent, Fruithill, Carlow, on October 31, 2021.

At the sentencing hearing on Friday, prosecutor Niall Storan and Detective Garda Eoin McGrath told details of the horrific attack on Miss Nolan that night, in which Nolan held her in prison for six hours and beat her in front of their young son.

The court heard Mr Doran, originally from The Curragh, Co Kildare, was previously jailed for the same offenses against another woman in 2014 and was subsequently dismissed from the defense forces.

Ms Nolan, who had been in a relationship with Mr Doran for more than five years, was unaware of the serious attack on her previous partner and was worried about her life on the night she was attacked.

“I thought he was going to kill me that night. It was terrible; he should never have been released from prison. I want to warn other women about him. “He is a constant abuser of women,” said Miss Nolan, 34. Nationalist.

“There were years of constant abuse and control. It cut me off from my friends and I never went out the door… I don’t know where I got my courage from, I’m a crusty person. He did not apologize; not sad. I don’t want anything from him. The more people know about him, the better. When you’re in a situation like this, no one understands. This is so scary. He will never leave me.” Mr Doran denied all charges except the assault charge and was found guilty by a unanimous jury in July.

Jailing Mr Doran for six years, Judge Eugene O’Kelly said he was an “obscenely jealous man” and Ms Nolan had “suffered greatly as a result”.

Judge O’Kelly heard details of the attack, in which Mr Doran hit, kicked, headbutted and bit Ms Nolan in a six-hour attack that began in her three-year-old son’s room. At one point he bit Ms Nolan’s foot when she tried to protect herself by lifting her leg to keep him away. He also strangled her and slammed his fist into her throat. At another point, she tried to escape, but the man dragged her up the stairs by her hair.

Detective McGrath told the court Mr Doran told the victim he was going to kill him and dismember him and put him in a black plastic bag. When Mr Doran saw the damage to the woman’s face the next day, he asked if make-up would cover the bruises and when he finally left the house he locked the door and called the police, the court heard. Gardai. When he was taken to the hospital, he had black eyes, bite marks and bruises on his body, and photographs of these were taken as evidence.

Judge O’Kelly also heard details of how the defendant controlled Ms Nolan from January 1, 2019, to October 31, 2021. While he was making phone calls, he was also taking his phone and disconnecting from his social media accounts. He accused her of sleeping with other men and beating her, while also estranging her from her family and friends.

In a victim impact statement read in court, Ms Doran said: ‘I genuinely believed I was going to die. Terror still passes through me. I have to live with mental torture. I never felt like I was good enough. Now I have nightmares and anxiety. ‘I will live with this fear forever.’ Mr Doran took the stand on Friday and told the judge he was unhappy with legal counsel for David Bulbulia SC and Tara Geoghegan BL, accusing them and prosecutor Mr Storan of being unfair.

Judge O’Kelly interrupted him and said his “comments were for the appellate court.”

Sentencing Mr Doran to six years in prison, Judge O’Kelly noted that he had shown no remorse, had not apologized to the victim and there was no reason for any suspension of sentence.