Mayo native to share experience of domestic abuse by garda husband on Prime Time

TONIGHT, on RTÉ Prime Time, Mayo native Margaret Loftus Rouse, a former member of An Garda Síochána, will share her experience of domestic abuse at the hands of her then husband, also a serving garda at the time.

In an in-depth interview with presenter Miriam O’Callaghan, Margaret details the difficulty of pursuing a complaint against a fellow garda while she was still serving on the force herself.

She describes the aftermath of a night that she was attacked by her then husband: “I sat on the bed the entire night, sitting up with my children in both arms, and I prayed to God and I said Hail Marys the entire night. I swore... that I would never let that happen to us again. I have made good on my promise, I have done everything that I can possibly do to ensure that we are safe.”

Last Friday, Trevor Bolger pleaded guilty to the Section 2 assault and was given a three-month suspended sentence.

Bolger continued to serve in the gardaí throughout the multi-year investigation and was suspended on the day he was formally charged.

Margaret describes the process and the institutional challenges faced by victims of domestic abuse. She said: “For anyone that lives with domestic abuse, it’s like living in a concrete box, with no way out. Nothing you have to face, no matter how hard the judicial system has been for me, it has still been better than being in that relationship.

“I’m very dismayed that this is the judicial process that is available to victims. The process itself was as traumatising and damaging as the abuse.”

However, as hard as the process has been, Margaret shares a message for others in similar situations: “The only way perpetrators are going to continue to flourish and continue to abuse in our society is by us staying quiet. Silence only protects abusers.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of. I did carry shame for a long time, but I don’t carry it now… There’s a wonderful life out there for you to live… I cannot urge enough for anyone listening to me here tonight. Please come forward.”

Watch the full report on Prime Time tonight (January 20) at 9.35 p.m. on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and read the digital report on RTÉ.ie/primetime.