2020 may have been dominated by Covid-19, but the wheels of justice continued to turn...
Outside the sun was shining but inside a dark cloud was hanging over the Lee family who had gathered, in small numbers, for this sentencing hearing.
Courtrooms are daunting places at the best of times but during Covid-19 restrictions, only those who really had to be there, were allowed inside.
It meant that only a handful of people were present in Cavan Circuit Court the day Lance Dempsey was jailed for nine-and-a-half years for a savage attack on his former partner Sonya Lee. Her sisters Aisling and Natalie, along with their aunt Jackie huddled close in court that morning.
While Covid-19 had taken over the world, they were and continue to face a bigger battle.
Life changed for 38-year-old Sonya on 16 March 2018. She was on a night out with Dempsey, her then partner, and some friends. The couple were engaged to be married.
One witness told the court that Dempsey had been "storming in and out of the pub in a bit of a temper" that night. He was acting aggressively but would then hug his partner. The couple were asked to leave after Dempsey punched a wall inside the pub.
A witness reported hearing the couple argue on the street. It was around 10.30pm when Lance Dempsey pushed Sonya Lee into the hallway of a pub entrance and pulled the door closed behind him.
We now know Dempsey punched Sonya twice in the head and stamped on her head 17 times. He left her unconscious on the street. Dempsey, who had 26 previous convictions for theft and public order, ran off yelling: "What have I done? What have I done?".
Doctors gave Sonya an hour to live and her family called for a priest as she fought for her life. She spent the next ten days in an induced coma, her family by her side.
The young woman suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, a broken nose and a fractured jaw. She went on to spend the next eight months in hospital during which she also contracted Sepsis and pneumonia.
Miraculously, Sonya went on to give birth to a healthy baby boy. She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of the attack but did not know.
Dempsey was arrested shortly after the attack but before that he told gardaí that his girlfriend had "fell down" some stairs. He resisted arrest, attempted to hit a garda and bit another officer's fingers. When questioned, he gave gardaí different names and a false date of birth. After watching CCTV of the attack, he admitted to feeling like a "scumbag".
Judge John Aylmer said footage of the "violent and vicious attack" made for "hard viewing". The judge said there was an extreme level of violence used as the victim lay helplessly on the ground.
He remarked on the permanent harm and brain damage suffered by Sonya and the fact that Dempsey assaulted gardaí during his arrest and told lies. He sentenced him to 11 years in prison, suspending the final 18 months.
Over six months on from the sentencing, Sonya is getting on with her life. Her sister Aisling said the last two years have been a nightmare for her family.
"The first six weeks there were times we were told the life support was going to be turned off. She had an hour to live. The whole eight months of her being in hospital was a nightmare. Then we found out she was pregnant, after all she went through," she explained.
A woman once described as "full of life" will never be the same again. Sonya will never live independently. Her sister Aisling is her main carer.
"It's never going to change what happened to Sonya. She's still going to be brain damaged and he could be walking the streets in seven years" she said.
"Life is a struggle. Sonya goes to a rehab centre every day. We have to get on with life now," Aisling added.
During 2020 domestic violence incidents have soared. Gardaí say the number of incidents reported by victims has increased by 18% so far this year. Restrictions on people's movement as a result of measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 are being blamed.
The Lee family hope this story will serve as a warning to women who are in an abusive relationship.
"Don't be afraid. We don't want what happened to Sonya happen to any other woman. Please speak out" said Natalie Lee, another sister of Sonya.
Almost two years on from the attack, Sonya is getting on with her life. While she remembers little of what happened on 16 March 2018, her life has now been changed forever. She wants people to help those who may be living with domestic violence.
"Encourage them to get out, to leave it," she said.
It’s a message Sonya and her family hope others will hear this Christmas and into 2021.
