A man has received an 18-month suspended sentence over a “malevolent and sinister” greeting-card campaign against a Co Mayo couple.
Brendan Rowland (30) sent 40 messages to Peter and Ann Byrne in Christmas cards, birthday cards, a wedding anniversary card and a Mother’s Day card between December 14th, 2018 and December 31st, 2019.
The signature on most of the cards was Joe or Joseph, the first name of the late 21-year-old Joe Deacy from St Albans, southeast England.
Mr Deacy was found critically injured outside the Byrnes’ home in Gortnasillagh, Swinford, Co Mayo, early on August 12th, 2017.
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The GAA fan was visiting relatives in Co Mayo at the time. Gardaí began a murder investigation after a postmortem showed he had suffered a blunt-force trauma to the head.
Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court previously heard how one of the cards sent to the Byrnes over an 18-month period read: “Merry Christmas. I hope you get a conscience for Christmas, Joe.”
Another card read: “Hope you have a killer Christmas.”
Gardaí told the court how the Byrnes also received a black rose in a box on their wedding anniversary.
The Byrnes told the court they had nothing to do with Mr Deacy’s death and did what they could to help him that night. Nonetheless, they had been subject to a hate campaign for years, they said.
Despite an intensive Garda investigation, nobody has been charged with Mr Deacy’s killing.
At an earlier hearing, Rowland, of Ballygaravaun, Ballycroy, Co Mayo, who is resident in the UK, admitted a single count of harassing Mr Byrne.
Rowland was a close friend of Mr Deacy’s and was meant to stay with him on the night that he was killed.
Laura Byrne, defending, said the judge had previously suggested Rowland should pay for a small memorial to commemorate Mr Deacy.
She said a bench with a photograph of Mr Deacy had been installed at St Albans GAA Club in Hertfordshire, England. There was also a proposal to have a bench or plaque in his memory at Swinford GAA Club, she said.
Ms Byrne said Rowland would be undertaking a Sea 2 Summit event next month, with the money raised going to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice.
Judge Eoin Garavan said the duration of this “malevolent and sinister campaign” was an aggravating factor. He said the behaviour “mentally tortured” the Byrne family.
As a condition of the 18-month suspended sentence, Rowland must not contact the Byrnes for 10 years and must not go within 500 metres of their home.
The judge said it was sad that Mr Deacy’s memory had been caught up in the case. “I hope this unfortunate chapter is over,” he said.
