The grieving sister of a man stabbed 60 times by his crazed wife has urged men to stand up to domestic violence.
Paul Byrne, 48, was murdered by Tanya Doyle, 46, inside their home in Tallaght, South Dublin, in September 2009.
Emergency services heard the horrific assault as he begged for his life. Doyle was mentally disturbed and had worked as a prostitute.
She stabbed him three years earlier but Paul refused to make a statement that would have seen his wife to court.
Yesterday, on Virgin Media’s Ireland AM Paul’s sister Elaine recalled the earlier attack.
She said: “He said it was the worst pain he could possibly imagine. He didn’t think he could bear it and he passed out.
“He must have been looking for help but he said she waited until he passed out.
“He was always afraid that if he hadn’t passed out, he wasn’t sure if she was waiting for him to die.
“I was in hospital when he came out of surgery and the guards were there and he wouldn’t make a statement. They were aware she stabbed him because there was only two of them in the house.
“But he wouldn’t make a statement.”
During the murder trial the jury heard he had called for help and said “my wife is stabbing me”.
Elaine added: “You could hear the fear in his voice. Because he’s our brother we know.
“You can hear his deep breathing and panic. I still hear those words. They don’t go away.
“I wanted to curse him when I heard him asking, ‘Do you not love me anymore?’
“She’s killing him and he’s begging for his life, asking her ‘What did I ever do on you? Why are you torturing me?’ They were words I’ll never forget.
“All of those controlling movements with Paul, she exercised those right until the end.”
Elaine was campaigning on behalf of AMEN, Ireland’s only charity which gives support to male victims of domestic abuse.
It coincides with research from Cosc that indicates just 5% of men report domestic violence to authorities.
Elaine urged men and women to come forward and report domestic violence to confront their attackers.
She added: “People don’t realise men can be a victim of domestic violence. I remember someone asked me about my brother.
“I said his wife killed him and their question was, ‘Was she bigger?’ There isn’t the same empathy for men so they stay silent.
“The regrets I have that I didn’t get him to see what was happening or make that phone call.”
