![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_hallahan.png\")
<\/p>\nSpeaking 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.<\/p>\n
Anthony Mackessy and Emma Hallahan(Image: )<\/p>\n
A domestic abuse survivor<\/a> has told of her fear for her safety as her attacker is freed – and she\u2019s about to be made homeless.<\/p>\n 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\u2019d kill her – at her home in Dungarvan, Co Waterford <\/a>on January 13, 2024.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately I\u2019ve to leave this place now because it\u2019s only a holiday home and it\u2019s being sold,\u201d Emma said. “If I can\u2019t find a place by the 20th of March, I have to present as homeless <\/a>and the council will put me and my children into emergency accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s stuck in, but didn\u2019t have enough time before her abuser was walking free once more.<\/p>\n \u201cSince he’s been released, when I walk out my front door I\u2019m looking over my shoulder. If I see a car passing by that\u2019s similar to his, I kind of automatically think it’s him. Where I\u2019m living is pretty isolated. I just feel that I\u2019m very alone where I am and also I constantly have my door locked now. Like I can\u2019t leave my front door open.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma told her fear that former HSE worker Mackessy, who a court <\/a>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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been told that he\u2019s on probation and that he won\u2019t do anything but that doesn\u2019t take away my fear. It\u2019s very easy to say he\u2019s been warned against this and that but when you\u2019ve been abused and assaulted by someone like that – and they\u2019ve threatened to kill you, that fear is not going to be taken away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cRealistically for me to feel safe I need to be somewhere where he doesn\u2019t know where I live anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Hallahan photographed in Dungarvan(Image: )<\/p>\n 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\u2019re leaving their home behind.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had to start explaining to the kids because they\u2019ve had to start packing up some of their stuff. They are like \u2018where are going to live Mammy?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t know what to say. I\u2019m telling them that we are going to be OK when realistically I’ve no idea where we\u2019re 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\u2019t have a safe home for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t find a home by March 20th she will likely be housed in a hotel which is housing the homeless in Tramore, Co Waterford.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019s absolutely awful. I feel like I\u2019m fighting a losing battle here. I feel like it needs to be seen on a bigger level. I\u2019d constantly be thinking how many other women are in this situation with their kids, being made homeless?\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> or even having to remain with their abuser.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where it’s all going to end. I’ve just been told constantly that there are no houses available and there\u2019s other people who have a higher priority. I\u2019ve had the women\u2019s refuge advocate for me, local councillors, and Priscilla Grainger,\u201d Emma said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n Anthony, jailed over an attack in which his ex-partner Emma Hallahan thought she was going to die(Image: )<\/p>\n In a statement to this paper Priscilla and Ainie Grainger of \u2018Stop Domestic Violence in Ireland\u2019 said: \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cFunding 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,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Irish Mirror’s Crime Writers Michael O’Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up<\/a> and get it delivered to your inbox every week<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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 \u2018if you don\u2019t get out of this relationship, you will be another number.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_JS388094930.jpg\")
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