A former Garda and soldier has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-wife and stepsons over a 12-year period.

Thirty-eight-year-old Mark Doyle, who was a member of the Defence Forces between 2002 and 2009 and a Garda between 2009 and 2023, was today sentenced to six years in prison.

In passing sentence, Judge Martin Nolan said that Doyle’s behaviour was reprehensible and that there was a pattern of violence towards his wife.

Judge Nolan also said that Doyle could not control his temper and then blamed his wife for this.

Doyle was described by his wife as “a respected member of the community, but a monster in our home” who subjected her and her four children to a litany of violent acts and coercive control.

Judge Nolan noted that the accused pleaded guilty and expressed remorse; however, he said the former Garda’s behaviour deserved a long custodial term and sentenced him to six years in prison.

Main image: A courtroom inside the Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland