Suspended sentence for man charged with harassment of his wife in Offaly

A suspended sentence was handed down to a man who sent a number of text messages to his wife. There were eight messages on one occasion and 17 on the other.

James O'Reilly, Killinagh Lower, Carbury, Kildare, was charged with harassment of his wife on dates unknown between September 8, 2015 and November 12, 2015 at Woodfield, Edenderry.

Sgt James O'Sullivan said Mr O'Reilly's wife was in constant fear of her husband. They had been separated for some time.

James O'Reilly had 18 previous convictions, including domestic violence, driving without insurance and had been disqualified for two years. He had also received a suspended sentence for other offences.

Solicitor Donal Farrelly said this particular offence goes back quite some time. The defendant is now 62 and lives a nomadic life busking in Galway. He has had no contact with his wife in the last number of years.

He was originally a First Lieutenant in the army. He is doing the best he can and is now residing in a hostel. He asked Judge Cody to be lenient.

Judge Cody said the reason there had been such a delay in bringing the case before the court was because there had been five bench warrants issued in the case when Mr O'Reilly failed to show in court. It had ''nothing to do with his lifestyle'' said Judge Cody. He said the facts in the case had been given five years ago and it had been adjourned for finalisation. But then bench warrants had to be issued. Judge Cody said he showed a complete disregard for the courts.

He imposed a two month sentence which he suspended for three years on the defendant's own bond of €100 and he is to have no contact with his wife for a period of three years.