Drunk man 'very abusive' to detective in Offaly double murder probe

A MAN pleaded guilty to public order offences after an encounter with a garda detective involved in the investigation into the murders of a boy and his grand-aunt in Edenderry.

Pleas of guilty to public drunkenness and a breach of the peace were entered by Eoin Coyne (27), Rooske, Edenderry when he appeared before Tullamore District Court.

Court presenter Sergeant Brendan Kearns said that on Sunday, December 7 last at JKL Street, Edenderry, gardai were speaking to members of the public conducting enquiries regarding a murder investigation.

While they were doing so, Mr Coyne who was highly intoxicated, was very abusive to gardai, said Sergeant Kearns. An additional charge alleging obstruction of gardai was withdrawn.

Sergeant Kearns added that the man had seven previous convictions, including four for criminal damage in Novembe, 2024.

In 2020 he had twice been disqualified from driving for driving or attempting to drive a vehicle with excess alcohol.

READ NEXT: Big housing scheme in Offaly gets green light

Mr Coyne's solicitor, Brian Duffy, told the court Mr Coyne had been out and drank too much.

He was familiar with Garda Joseph Bradley regarding another matter and some interaction took place “in a manner he's very ashamed of”.

Mr Duffy said his client had said he suffered from anxiety and depression and had been on medication and “clearly alcohol and appropriate medication” do not match.

He was deeply ashamed and spoke to Garda Bradley and gave him a fulsome apology.

A man on a FAS course, he earned €288 per week but “rather unusually” he had saved €800 to present to the court.

Mr Duffy said his client had done so not on his instructions but from his own meagre income as a genuine gesture of remorse.

He asked Judge Andrew Cody to take that contribution, along with the apology and the man's mental health background, into account when considering a penalty.

Judge Cody noted that Mr Coyne had committed the offences two days after “that horrific murder”.

“Is this the yobs who the gardai investigating that have to deal with?” he asked.

He described Garda Bradley is a senior detective in the area who was obviously involved in that investigation.

Mr Duffy said the accused was aware of that and knew it was “unacceptable in the extreme”.

Judge Cody ordered that the contribution of €800 be given to the Acorn Project which works with young people in Edenderry to give them training and “hope” to “stay away from all these sort of issues”.

Without the financial contribution he would have considered a custodial sentence, added the judge.

He sentenced Mr Coyne to a month in prison, suspending it for two years. He also granted the man legal aid.

Gardai launched a murder investigation after Tadgh Farrell, who was four, and his 60-year-old great-aunt Mary Holt died in a firebomb attack on a house in Castleview Park, Edenderry on the evening of December 6 last.

The four-year-old's grandmother Pauline Holt was also in the house at the time and was brought to hospital for treatment after suffering serious burn injuries.

There is no link between the investigation and Eoin Coyne and there is no suggestion at all that Mr Coyne was in any way involved or had any connection with the attack on the house in Castleview Park.