A man has been sentenced to one year in prison for the harassment of a couple in Ardara.
Conal Gildea was handed down the sentence by Judge Ciaran Liddy when he appeared at Glenties District Court.
Gildea, aged 45 and with an address at Ard Patrick, Glenties was charged with two counts of harassment.
Gildea was charged with harassing Jill Vance at Glenconwell, Ardara, between May 16, 2020 and June 18, 2021. He was also charged with harassing Luigi Pizzi at the same location between the same dates.
The charges are contrary to section 10(1) and (6) of the Non-Fatal Offences Against The Person Act, 1997.
Judge Liddy recalled how Ms Vance explained that the property she and Mr Pizzi purchased in Ardara was near to the family home of Gildea, who began by asserting a belief that he had a right to access a stream for his cattle to drink water from
“However, this developed into a campaign of intimidation,” Judge Liddy said.
Ms Vance told how workmen had arrived at her property on one occasion. Gildea arrived on site and intimidated them to such an extent that they left and refused to come back.
“They left without the work being done and left so frightened,” Judge Liddy said.
The Judge said Gildea would film and photograph the pair regularly within the confines of their property. This, he said, would take place at least once a week.
“She was at pains to stress that the family home should have been a source of tranquility and an area of joy and peace in the countryside,” Judge Liddy said. “Instead, it was transformed into a prison.
“Her health suffered and she seldom left the property. Her blood pressure suffered and she lost her appetite due to the level of intimidation.
“Indeed, she took advice from an estate agent to sell the property, such was the level of fear and intimidation. That gives an indication of the level of distress and harassment.”
Judge Liddy said he had been advised that Gildea had access to lands nearby and he would “drive by and walk very slowly, staring at the house”, which also gave rise to a feeling of intimidation and harassment for the couple.
Mr Pizzi indicated that he experienced “frequent bouts of intimidation and harassment,” Judge Liddy said.
There had been a number of incidents where Mr Pizzi was attending to flowers on an embankment and was subjected to “frequent interaction.”
“It was all over a stream that he (Gildea) asserted that he had a right to for cattle,” Judge Liddy said.
Gildea was represented in court by solicitor Mr Frank Murphy, acting as agent for Gildea’s solicitor Mr Frank Dorrian.
Judge Liddy said that the victim impact statements of Ms Vance and Mr Pizzi, which were handed into the court, “make for disturbing reading” and noted that their health and earnings suffered as a result of this.
Judge Liddy said that, having read a probation report on Gildea, the accused was “somewhat remorseful, however he has difficulty in accepting the full details of his offence and this is a source of concern.”
Gildea was, said Judge Liddy, before the court at no risk of reoffending, but there was still concern.
“Both victims are in their 60s and just want peace and quiet and Mr Gildea has destroyed their lovely, tranquil countryside home to pursue his own agenda,” Judge Liddy said, adding that he was unable to give Gildea any credit for a guilty plea as the matter was fully contested.
On each charge of harassment, Gildea was sentenced to six months in prison. With the sentences to run consecutively, that meant Gildea was handed a total of one year in prison.
Recognisance in the event of an appeal was fixed at Gildea’s own bond of €300.