A 32-year-old man who tried to kill his mother by repeatedly stabbing her while he was suffering from psychosis has been jailed for ten years.
Gearoid Coughlan, from Ballycoughlan, Inishannon, Co Cork, had earlier pleaded guilty to attempting to murder his mother on 4 June 2021 at her home in Ballycoughlan.
The court was told he did not want to avail of a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity because he did not want to be detained indefinitely in the Central Mental Hospital, preferring instead to serve a sentence in prison.
At the sentence hearing in March his mother, Mary Coughlan, criticised failures in the mental health system, which she said put her in a dangerous situation because of her son's illness.
He had struggled with schizophrenia for many years resulting in 11 admissions to a psychiatric unit over a ten-year period.
His mother was not made aware of the danger he posed in the lead up to the assault, which left her with life-long injuries.
She said a lack of communication about the risk posed by her son's illness left her in an "unexpected, dangerous situation where I endured a horrific assault that almost cost me my life and will continue to impact my life forever. The assault by my son, who I never feared before, resulted in severe injuries including a traumatic brain injury".
Man jailed for attempted murder of his mother
A 32-year-old man who tried to kill his mother by repeatedly stabbing her while he was suffering from psychosis has been jailed for ten years.
