A woman who alleges her husband assaulted, raped and threatened to kill and cause serious harm to her has told the Central Criminal Court that he threatened to cut her face open with a knife on the night of the alleged rape.
Her 42-year-old husband has pleaded not guilty to the seven offences which are alleged to have happened between May and August 2014.
He has pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife using a hammer in August 2014.
The woman said the couple's relationship became fractious after the birth of their child.
Six months after the child was born, she said her husband said he was feeling left out and accused her of giving all her attention to the child.
She said her husband left for about a week at the end of 2013, but they decided to try to give the marriage another go.
She said matters did not improve and she decided she wanted a separation.
She said that in early May 2014 they had an argument about bringing her nephew on an outing with their child.
She said he grabbed her and headbutted her.
She said she was completely dazed and shocked.
When she returned to the house, the following day she said she could smell something odd.
She said her husband told her he thought she was not coming back and had poured lighter fuel all around the house.
She said he told her he had been going to burn the house down.
She said she spent most of the night washing everything down.
A number of days later she said her husband told her that as long as they were living in the house, he was going to have sex with her.
She said he got very aggressive and pulled down her pyjamas and told her he could rape her if he wanted to
Towards the end of May she said they were having another row about the separation.
She said her husband told her he had decided they were staying together and that she did not get to decide they were separating.
She said her husband put his fist to her face. He then picked up a knife in the kitchen, put it up to her face and told her he could cut her face open and that she was staying with him.
She said she asked him to think about what he was doing. But she said she was terrified as she said she really knew he meant what he was saying.
She said he told her to go upstairs, and he took off all his clothes and told her to get into bed.
The woman, became upset as she told the court she said to herself that she had to do what he asked because she was afraid he was going to kill her and she had nowhere to go.
After the alleged rape, she said she told her husband they would stay together.
She said he kept telling her she had better not be lying or she would be dead.
The next morning she rang gardaí and got an interim barring order against her husband.
She said her husband rang her in her parents' house and was screaming down the phone at her.
She said he screamed at her that he had told her she would be in serious trouble if she went to the guards.
She said he said he was never going to leave her with their child and that she was dead.
The trial will continue tomorrow.
