A Dublin man has been jailed for eight years for trying to murder his ex.
A court has heard the woman came "within a hair’s breadth" of losing her life after he tried to shoot her in the face, but the gun jammed.
Over the course of a number of days in February 2017 Gerard Mooney rang his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Clifton around 250 times.
They had a turbulent relationship which had broken down but Mooney didn’t accept this and became obsessive.
The 39 year old Dublin man with a previous address in Castlerea in Roscommon went to her home and smashed her car windows.
He called to her cousin's home, after being arrested and told not to contact her.
She woke up to find him standing over her, when he dragged her out of bed and assaulted her.
He left, returned with a sawn-off shotgun and pointed it at her head.
He pulled the trigger a number of times but it didn’t fire.
Mooney, who has suffered from mental health and substance abuse problems, pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
He also admitted harassment, a threat to kill, possession of a shotgun and burglary.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail with four years suspended.
Following his release, he has been told to stay away from his victim for 15 years.
