“Violent and abusive” James McDonagh threatened to put a glass in the face of a manager who stood up to him
“Violent and abusive” James McDonagh threatened to put a glass in the face of a manager who stood up to him
A violent drunk slapped his wife in the face and threw her to the floor in the middle of a bowling alley diner, then turned his anger on a manager when she tried to intervene. James McDonagh, 45, threatened to kill manager Jenny Hares as she tried to break up the chaos, telling her: “I’m coming back and I’m going to kill you.”
The incident happened at Hollywood Bowl at the New Mersey Retail Park, Speke, at around 9pm on January 19. McDonagh, his wife Briony McDonagh, and another man were drinking in the bar area, and were said to be “very loud”. Staff suspected they had drank too much alcohol, and they were given one more round before being cut off.
McDonagh was then seen behaving aggressively towards his wife, and Ms Hares approached her alone to ask if he had had too much to drink. Mrs McDonagh replied: “Yes, but don’t ask him about it.”
Describing the events at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Monday, March 2, prosecutor Zara Kayani said McDonagh’s aggressive behaviour continued around 20 minutes later when he “grabbed [Mrs McDonagh] by the hair and began shaking her”.
She shouted at McDonagh to leave her alone. When Ms Hares went to check if she was OK, she said: “He won’t mess with me and if it wasn’t for the kids I wouldn’t be with him.”
She went outside to smoke, and when she returned McDonagh “grabbed her by the hair, slapped her face, and pushed her to the floor”.
Ms Hares escorted her to another room before approaching McDonagh and telling him to leave. He responded: “Get me the f***ing police. Who do you think you are?”, adding: “I’m coming back and I’m going to kill you.”
At this point, the court heard, Mrs McDonagh returned to the area, and McDonagh “lunged as if to hit her”. Ms Hares stepped in front of the other woman to protect her, but was shoved aside by McDonagh.
She began clearing the glasses from the table, but McDonagh threatened “You can f***ing put them down or it’ll go in your face”. He grabbed the table and flipped it over, causing eight glasses to smash onto the floor, resulting in £621 worth of criminal damage,
Ms Kayani said: “The defendant followed Ms Hares into the reception area and continued shouting ‘I’m going to get you, I’m going to kill you, get the police here right now. You will be sorry’.”
Police were called to the scene and McDonagh was arrested and put into a police van, where he deliberately urinated.
He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault, two counts of criminal damage, threatening behaviour and making threats to kill. He also admitted breaching a suspended sentence, having been given a 13-month sentence suspended for 18 months for affray in October 2025.
Louise McClusky, defending, said: “It’s clear that the underlying problem is the consumption of alcohol while also taking medication for significant health and mental health difficulties.
“The update from the probation service indicated he completed an alcohol treatment requirement but that was of a limited duration (80 days). It’s clear that further structured work is required in order to address the defendant’s risk and behaviour in the contact of domestic abuse. I would submit on his behalf that someone with either a drug or alcohol problem is unlikely to recover in an 80-day period and needs support from interventions, and that hasn’t happened in this case.
“There’s an ongoing problem that relates to alcohol…which has a significant impact on his family. His family are present in this court today, including his wife, who appears in support of him.”
She said McDonagh, of Pendennis Street, Anfield, is a dad-of-nine who had custody of several of his children. He had 21 past convictions for 36 offences including affray in October 2025, in which he was said to have thrown a chair at his wife in a pub.
Sentencing, Recorder Tim Hannon KC said: “It’s plain that your family love and support you. But the people affected by your drunken violence and threats are not limited to your family, who are themselves very forgiving of your appalling behaviour over the years. The central issue in your case is you drink too much and become violent and abusive when you do.”
He sentenced McDonagh to eight months in prison, and activated 11 months of his existing 13-month sentence, making a total of 19 months behind bars. He also made a restraining order banning him from approaching Ms Hares or entering Hollywood Bowl in Speke.
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