By Sean Murphy
DOMESTIC violence in Donegal is “off the scale” with controlling abusers even continuing to target their victims from prison, it is claimed.
A women’s support group has also warned there could be another female death in Donegal because domestic violence services do not have sufficient funding. The warnings follow publication of Garda figures in the Donegal News last month when we highlighted how women in the county made 1,400 domestic abuse calls last year.
In new figures released to this newspaper yesterday, there has been a “239 per cent demand in increase” for women’s support services across Donegal this year already, according to a local support group.
In exclusive interviews this week, women’s support services and victims of abuse have now exposed the reality behind the “harrowing figures” – which one charity boss described as “the tip of the iceberg”.
Women have been left on the “brink of suicide” due to abusive partners and husbands, a woman in her 60s was terrorised by an imprisoned ex who threatened her with bullets in the post, another woman was threatened at gunpoint, and the “level of violence in Donegal is just off the Richter scale”, it is claimed.
Services have warned that men become more violent and dangerous when their victims try to leave; there is a lack of support and funding for abuse victims; young girls and boys need educated to learn domestic abuse is not just physical, sexual, or financial; and sentencing for crimes must be tougher.
Donegal Uplift Project clinical director Jessica Gallagher works with women affected by issues such as “domestic abuse, coercive control, and sexual violence”.
She told the Donegal News: “There is a lack of support for abuse victims. We know of women who are on the brink of suicide due to abuse.
“Women can be most at risk when they try to leave because a partner may get more violent and dangerous as they are losing control.
“Women are calling for help but their concerns are not being met because more services are needed. There are so many women who are in dangerous situations but they do not know what to do.”
She warned: “There is a serious worry that there could be another death in Donegal.”
Mum-of-two Jasmine McMonagle was 27 years old when she was found strangled and beaten to death in her home in Killygordon in January 2019.
Her partner, Richard Burke, now 33, received a 14-year prison sentence in May 2023 after he was found guilty of her manslaughter.
In January 2004, Donegal woman Dolores McCrea was murdered and her remains were burned in a fire behind their home at Ballintra.
The 39-year-old woman’s estranged husband Gary McCrea was found guilty in November 2025 of her murder and was given a life sentence.
Ms Gallagher added: “We know a woman in her 60s whose partner is in prison but still managed to send bullets to her home. She feels abandoned.
“We know of dozens of women who are waiting for support. There are multiples of women who are actively looking to tell their truths.”
Registered charity Donegal Domestic Violence Service (DDVS) is funded by the Department of Justice to help women and children affected by domestic abuse in county Donegal.
Its interim assistant manager Fiona Jordan told the Donegal News: “The 1,400 domestic abuse calls reflect demand in Donegal for 2025.
“Demand for our services increased by 239 per cent between January and March of this year.
“The biggest problem is accommodation and that is not just emergency accommodation. We need safe-houses in the community and also private rentals, but it is extremely difficult. The costs are shocking.
“Some women are surviving on benefits and have fled situations where they were made to be financially dependent due to control by their abuser.
“They are on the breadline and private accommodation can be out of reach. Their struggle is harrowing.”
Ms Jordan added: “The 1,400 domestic abuse call figure from the gardai is the tip of the iceberg in terms of reflecting the domestic abuse situation in Donegal.
“We need more awareness and more education about domestic abuse. It is not just physical violence, sex abuse, or financial control.
“We want females to be able to identify and recognise red flags. We have to change expectations of what should be tolerated or acceptable.
“The level of violence is off the Richter scale. Sentencing for crimes isn’t big enough. It is not enough of a deterrent.”
An abuse survivor said: “I am not surprised that 1,400 domestic abuse calls were made last year in Donegal.
“My story began when I got married. From that day on, I lost my money, friends, car, he assumed total control.
“He wanted the fire lit, dinner on the table, to watch whatever he wanted on TV, and wouldn’t let me have a job.
“He came into the bedroom with a gun. I still have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
“We need more support services in Letterkenny and across Donegal. Some 56 families have needed emergency crisis in Donegal this past while due to domestic violence.
“I am lobbying politicians to get more funding for services locally.”
Donegal County Cllr Gerry McMonagle is chairman of the Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP).
He said: “Society must stand up and call out domestic violence. We must name it and shame it.”
Cllr McMonagle added: “There should be zero tolerance of the perpetrators of domestic violence and anyone who breaches barring, safety, or protection orders should go to straight to jail.”
Garda figures show there were 152 incidents relating to breaches of barring, safety, and protection orders in 2025 in the Donegal Division of An Garda Siochana.
Victims of coercive control are urged to contact any Garda station.
Donegal Uplift Project can be contacted via its theupliftproject.ie website and Donegal Domestic Violence Service can be reached through its donegaldomesticviolenceservices.ie site.
