This article is from page 20 of the 2006-10-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
THE father of a murdered Kilrush woman has been warned he may face a jail term if he fails to pay compensation for damage he caused to a neighbour’s house.
Stephen Walsh (56), of Pella Road, Kilrush, admitted damaging a door panel at a house in the early hours of July 17, 2004.
Garda Seamus Gleeson told Ennis Circuit Court the cost of repairing the damage to Raymond Conway’s house was €1,300.
Mr Conway had installed a video camera in the house, which was been renovated, and it showed the accused – and his co-accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons – throwing blocks at the house.
“The two pushed in the gate. Both had a concrete block and a bar in each hand. You could see them throwing the blocks and running out the gate,” said the garda.
Mr Walsh’s barrister Pat Whyms said there has been considerable history between the Walsh and Conway families. The court was told there were allegations of threats on both sides of the dispute.
Judge Con Murphy said the case was very difficult. He said Stephen Walsh went out “deliberately” in the dark hours to a neighbouring house. “This was a vigilante type act with intimidation and gangsterism written all over it,” he said.
He said he was taking into account the accused’s guilty plea and that his daughter was murdered since the offence took place. However he said the accused did not pay compensation and this indicated there was no real remorse.
“This type of act has to be severely frowned upon. I have no option but to sentence him to one year in jail. It would have been higher but for the relatively small amount of repairs,” said the judge.
Mr Whyms then pointed out to the judge that there was “severe provocation,” and asked him to suspend the sentence.
Judge Murphy said, “You cannot, in any town in Ireland, have people taking the law into their own hands. The way to show people are gone past that is to pay compensation.”
Mr Whyms said his client took out a €6,000 loan to pay for his daughter Ann’s funeral last year and he would seek to increase that loan.
The judge said he would adjourn the case and said “if compensation is here, I might well take a slightly more lenient view. I have given a very, very clear indication of the way I am going. This carry-on has to stop.”