FORMER GARDA MARGARET Loftus will address TDs and Senators in Leinster House this afternoon on her experience of domestic violence and the Irish legal system. 

Loftus has said the experience of pursuing justice after domestic abuse at the hands of her garda ex-husband was as “traumatising and damaging as the abuse”.

Her case involved a total of 58 court appearances after her ex-husband, Trevor Bolger (48), assaulted Loftus in 2012.

Bolger, who has been suspended from the gardaí since December 2019, received a three-month suspended sentence for the assault last month.

In her victim impact statement, Loftus described the attack, which occurred after a family event in her childhood bedroom in Co Mayo, as “protracted” and “terrifying”.

Loftus met with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan earlier today to discuss her experience of the justice system.

Following an invitation from Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh and Senator Pauline Tully, Loftus will also address TDs and Senators later today alongside Women’s Aid CEO Sarah Benson.

The Mayo woman is set to tell parliamentarians about the emotional toll of abuse and the challenges of pursuing accountability through the courts.

Speaking ahead of Loftus’s presentation, Conway Walsh said: “Her story is not only one of survival, but of courage, advocacy and an unrelenting demand for justice and reform.

“Unfortunately, her experience is all too common, but she wants to see reform of the system that failed her.”