The controlling partner threatened to “throw” the baby out of the woman, saying he would murder her and “leave her in a hole”.

He also admitted he threatened to kill her in a WhatsApp voice message sent to the woman’s phone on Jan. 15, 2022, out of consideration for his sentencing.

The woman is entitled to anonymity under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 but asked that Lynch be named and the judge in the case agreed.

The woman told gardaí that Lynch had full access to her mobile phone and all of her social media, including Instagram and Facebook. He also took money from her every Monday and only left her 20 euros, she said.

She said he would verbally abuse her and tell her that nobody loved her and that he hoped she would miscarry the child she was pregnant with.

Garda Daragh O’Connor told Prosecutor Emmet Nolan BL that on September 14, 2021, Gardaí responded to an allegation of the attack on Lynch’s home in Ballymun.

The victim told gardaí that during an altercation, Lynch threatened to “throw the baby out of her” and hit her on the back and stomach with a broomstick.

Lynch was arrested and told Gardaí in an interview that he would never hurt the victim, but admitted to calling their names and insulting them.

The next day, the woman issued a protection order against him, but told the court they had tried to reconcile and moved back in with him.

The court heard that Lynch used the victim’s money to buy drugs, and the relationship deteriorated again. The woman has been in touch with Tusla about the well-being of her child.

In January 2022, she texted him that she wanted to end the relationship, and he texted her, asking her why, saying, “I’m not playing games, you’re confusing me.”

A few days later, Lynch voicemailed her with the message, “First chance I get, I will murder you if I see you. i will kill you dead At the first chance I will leave you in a hole.”

In her victim impact statement, read by Mr Nolan, the woman said she came from a good family and when she met Lynch she had it all.

She worked in healthcare and continued her education and led a “normal and fulfilling life”.

She said she could no longer identify with this person. She said Lynch made her feel special and sold her “a fairy tale.”

At the beginning of the relationship, he told her that he loved her and wanted to have children with her. When he found her birth control pills, he threw them away.

“I’m not sure how I got involved in that. I’ve been isolated,” the woman said. She said he started telling her who to date and who she couldn’t communicate with, and she became cut off from her friends and family.

She said she began changing her behavior to please Lynch and keep him from getting angry. She said she got used to him kicking her and pulling her hair.

“I lost all self-esteem. I lived to please someone else. Eating was used to discipline me. I’ve always tried to be at my best to avoid escalation,” the woman said.

She said the physical abuse was easier than the emotional and mental torture and she even considered ending her life as the only way out. She spent two nights in a psychiatric ward.

After miscarrying her first child in January 2021, she began using cocaine heavily to cope. She said Lynch gave her cocaine and “she couldn’t get enough of it.”

After his arrest on death threat charges, Lynch told Gardaí he was mortified and humiliated by the news. He said he didn’t mean what he said and that he was sorry and full of regrets.

John Griffin BL, who is defending himself, told the court his client’s life was marred by drug use and that he had experienced domestic violence throughout his childhood. He said Lynch doesn’t remember much of the activity but accepts everything the victim said.

Judge Martina Baxter adjourned sentencing until next February and told the victim, who was present in court, that she was a very brave woman who deserved every success. The judge said her victim testimony was very strong.