A judge has dismissed a claim that a boxing instructor breached the conditions of a suspended sentence imposed for threatening his former girlfriend and her fiancé with a hammer.
Stephen Dowling (34), of Ely Woods, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, appeared before Tallaght District Court on a Section 99 application alleging he had breached the conditions of a suspended sentence imposed by Judge Patricia McNamara in October, 2025.
The application arose from an encounter between Dowling and his former girlfriend outside Rosemount Shopping Centre, on Marian Road, Rathfarnham, on April 10 last.
The woman told the court she had finished work at around 6pm and was walking towards the car park when she saw Dowling.
She told the court that after they made eye contact, Dowling pointed at her, said, “There’s the fucking snitch,” and raised his middle finger at her.
The woman said she had deliberately kept her workplace private and was distressed that Dowling now knew where she worked and what car she was getting into.
Under cross-examination by Ethan Foley BL, defending, the complainant rejected suggestions that no words had been exchanged and maintained that Dowling had directed the gesture towards her.
Dowling gave evidence to the court and denied the allegation under cross examination from Brian Coveney BL.
He told the court he had been shopping in SuperValu, lived nearby and regularly used the centre. He said the encounter was entirely coincidental and denied calling the woman a “fucking snitch” or making any offensive gesture.
The court also heard evidence from a friend of Dowling’s who had been waiting in a car nearby and said he did not hear any exchange nor see any hand gestures between the pair.
CCTV footage of the encounter was played in court.
Mr Foley submitted that the allegation had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Judge Peter White said the court had heard two conflicting versions of events and, while a judge can sometimes prefer the evidence of one witness over another, he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the alleged breach had been proven.
He noted that the suspended sentence imposed by Judge McNamara remains in place but said there was insufficient evidence before the court to find that Dowling had breached its conditions.
Judge White noted that a “man’s liberty was at stake” and dismissed the charge.
“Make sure you’re not back in this seat again,” Judge White told Dowling.
Dowling was convicted in October 2025 of producing an article capable of inflicting serious injury and two counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm.
The convictions arose from an incident at a Circle K service station on Ballyboden Road in May 2024, when the court heard Dowling threatened his former girlfriend and her fiancé that he would “bash their heads in” while displaying a hammer inside his jacket. He had denied the charges.
Judge McNamara imposed three concurrent prison sentences of 11 months, suspended in full for two years, and ordered that Dowling have no contact with the injured parties.