Two men have been sentenced to two years and 18 months in prison after the attempted deception of a post office worker involving the pension of a dead man last year.
The incident happened on 21 January at Hosey's post office on Staplestown road in Carlow town last year.
Declan Haughney, 41, with an address at Pollerton Road in Carlow, was sentenced to two years, while his co-accused, 37-year-old Gareth Coakley, with an address at John Sweeney Park in Carlow town, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Today, the court was shown CCTV from a nearby car park on Bridge Street.
It showed 66-year-old Peadar Doyle being dragged by the two men just before they entered the post office.
The footage also showed Claire Knight, a member of the public, who had earlier stopped the two men to see if Mr Doyle was okay.
She had seen him being dragged down the street and followed the trio down to the post office while on the phone to call an ambulance.
CCTV from inside the post office showed Haughney and Coakley carrying Mr Doyle, who was wearing a hat, from his home, which was 400m away.
The CCTV footage showed the two men dragging Mr Doyle and skipping the queue as they made their way to the post office counter.
Mr Doyle is then seen lying on the floor and Mr Haughney attempts to speak to him while accusing staff of killing his uncle.
Garda Joe O’Keeffe, who was called to the post office, told the court that Haughney said to staff: "He’s dead now, if you paid me he wouldn’t be here."
The footage then shows Mr Doyle being propped up by Haughney and Coakley, as Haughney attempts to withdraw Mr Doyle’s pension for a second time.
Gda O’Keeffe told the court that Mr Doyle was declared dead by paramedics on the floor in front of the counter 40 minutes later after CPR was administered.
The court heard that Haughney had attempted to withdraw Mr Doyle's pension before the incident, but he was told by the post office worker that he could not withdraw it because he was not an agent for Mr Doyle.
Gda O’Keeffe told the court that the excuse given was that Mr Doyle was unwell and they were waiting for an ambulance to arrive, but gardaí have since learned that no ambulance was called for.
Mr Doyle's sister Noeleen Dowling was the only named agent who had permission to collect the pension on his behalf.
Judge Eugene O’Kelly said it was not possible to determine a precise time of death for Mr Doyle, but said both men were guilty of attempted deception.
Judge O’Kelly said the two men literally abandoned Mr Doyle in front of the post office counter, which has caused great public interest in the case and hurt to Mr Doyle’s family.
He said that rather than seeking help, Haughney blamed post office workers for Mr Doyle’s death.
A victim impact statement on behalf of Mr Doyle's sister and Haughney’s aunt Noeleen Doyle was read out to the court which said the family had been doubly affected by the tragedy.
Ms Doyle was also critical of the media coverage surrounding the incident and said her brother had been ridiculed in Ireland and around the world as a result including in St Patrick’s Day parades.
