Speaking to this paper today, brave survivor Emma told how she and her four young boys- aged 13, 10, six and five, are now set to be on the streets by March – as she has to give up the home that she once lived in with Mackessy.
Anthony Mackessy and Emma Hallahan(Image: )
A domestic abuse survivor has told of her fear for her safety as her attacker is freed – and she’s about to be made homeless.
Vile woman beater Anthony Mackessy (42) walked free from prison earlier this month, having been sentenced just three months prior over a brutal assault in which he held his ex Emma Hallahan at knifepoint and told her he’d kill her – at her home in Dungarvan, Co Waterford on January 13, 2024.
Speaking to this paper today, brave survivor Emma told how she and her four young boys- aged 13, 10, six and five, are now set to be on the streets by March – as she has to give up the home that she once lived in with Mackessy.
“Unfortunately I’ve to leave this place now because it’s only a holiday home and it’s being sold,” Emma said. “If I can’t find a place by the 20th of March, I have to present as homeless and the council will put me and my children into emergency accommodation.”
Speaking of her ongoing fear of Mackessy, who has been ordered to stay away from her, Emma told of how she had tried to get out of the home she’s stuck in, but didn’t have enough time before her abuser was walking free once more.
“Since he’s been released, when I walk out my front door I’m looking over my shoulder. If I see a car passing by that’s similar to his, I kind of automatically think it’s him. Where I’m living is pretty isolated. I just feel that I’m very alone where I am and also I constantly have my door locked now. Like I can’t leave my front door open.”
Emma told her fear that former HSE worker Mackessy, who a court heard was of a high-risk of re-offending, could easily track her down, as she remains in this vulnerable position of trying to find a new home.
“I’ve been told that he’s on probation and that he won’t do anything but that doesn’t take away my fear. It’s very easy to say he’s been warned against this and that but when you’ve been abused and assaulted by someone like that – and they’ve threatened to kill you, that fear is not going to be taken away,” she said.
“Realistically for me to feel safe I need to be somewhere where he doesn’t know where I live anymore.”
Emma Hallahan photographed in Dungarvan(Image: )
The brave young mother, who is calling for better housing conditions for abuse victims in the same position as her, said she has had to break the news to her young boys that they’re leaving their home behind.
“I’ve had to start explaining to the kids because they’ve had to start packing up some of their stuff. They are like ‘where are going to live Mammy?’
“I just don’t know what to say. I’m telling them that we are going to be OK when realistically I’ve no idea where we’re going to go. I just want to meet their first needs and that is their safety. But I don’t even feel safe myself. I don’t have a safe home for them,” she said.
The young mother has been granted the HAP scheme, but says she is struggling to find any place which will accept a family of her size. Now she has been told that if she doesn’t find a home by March 20th she will likely be housed in a hotel which is housing the homeless in Tramore, Co Waterford.
“I’m after coming out of a really abusive relationship so my fear is heightened at the moment. So to potentially be in a position like that with a lot of strangers with my kids is going to be extremely difficult.”
“I would have to drive five mornings a week to Dungarvan which is 40 minutes and I also work one day a week in Youghal which is another 20 minutes. It’s absolutely awful. I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle here. I feel like it needs to be seen on a bigger level. I’d constantly be thinking how many other women are in this situation with their kids, being made homeless?”
Waterford County Council did not return a comment to this paper before this article went to print. Emma said she fears she is sadly one among many victims of domestic abuse who are facing potential homelessness or even having to remain with their abuser.
“I don’t know where it’s all going to end. I’ve just been told constantly that there are no houses available and there’s other people who have a higher priority. I’ve had the women’s refuge advocate for me, local councillors, and Priscilla Grainger,” Emma said.
Ms Grainger, who is herself a survivor of domestic abuse and runs an organisation helping others going through the same, says she is very concerned about Emma’s situation.
Anthony, jailed over an attack in which his ex-partner Emma Hallahan thought she was going to die(Image: )
In a statement to this paper Priscilla and Ainie Grainger of ‘Stop Domestic Violence in Ireland’ said: “We express our concerns regarding the treatment and support for victims of domestic violence, highlighted in the story of Emma Hallahan. It is disheartening to acknowledge that numerous other victims and survivors continue to battle against a system that often appears indifferent, making the journey toward recovery a harrowing battle.
“Funding must be generated not only to provide immediate safety but also ongoing protection and holistic support services for these vulnerable individuals. It is alarming to understand how many victims remain trapped in abusive relationships due to the unavailability of refuge spaces; this perpetuates the cycle of violence and increases the risk of fatal outcomes. We need a collective commitment to change this narrative and ensure that all victims can seek and receive the support they so desperately need and deserve,” they said.
Emma has now written to the Minister for Housing to express her concern about her own situation and the situation of potentially many others in a similar position to her.
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In November pharmaceutical porter worker Mackessy, who eventually pleaded guilty to assault, was jailed to just one year behind bars for his shocking crime. However, thanks to standard remission and time served having gone into custody in April – he walked free on January 5th this year.
A court heard how Mackessy beat Emma and dragged her up and down the stairs by her hair – before holding a knife to her throat and threatening to kill her. The brave survivor also previously told us how Mackessy even liked to bring her to famous murder sites – including the home of murder victim Tina Satchwell in Youghal, Co Cork.
“He would take me to sites where women had been murdered. So he would take me to sit outside Tina Satchwell’s house. He always wanted to take me to Schull where Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was murdered. All the signs were there. I remember the detective on my case said to me ‘if you don’t get out of this relationship, you will be another number.”
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