'Obsession over gate' leaves Mayo man (73) with suspended jail sentence
A man has received a suspended jail term after pleading guilty to a charge of coercion against his nephew’s wife in a row over a gate.
Charles Bourke, aged 73, of Cloonislaun, Ballina, previously pleaded guilty on the third day of a trial at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
He had earlier pleaded not guilty to harassment charges.
The trial heard that a dispute had broken out over a shared gate to access Bourke’s property and the home of his nephew Eric Bourke and Eric's wife Michelle.
Eric and Michelle Bourke had purchased a site from Bourke for €10,000 and built their home there.
After 14 years of living in close proximity with no issues, Bourke insisted that the gate be closed at all times.
He refused an offer from Eric and Michelle Bourke to install an electric gate and would only communicate with the couple through solicitors.
Michelle Bourke gave evidence that Charles Bourke would be waiting at the gate almost every evening when she returned home from work.
He sat in his tractor and watched her struggle to open the heavy gate and then close it after her.
She said Bourke would pull the gate tightly and attach the chain to barbed wire making it difficult for her to access and open.
His actions also impacted parents dropping off and collecting children for guitar lessons provided by her daughter.
The incidents occurred between October 1, 2018, and April 15, 2019, and the defendant's behaviour left her 'petrified'.
CCTV footage was shown to the court over two days before Bourke pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of coercion where he admitted wrongfully watching or besetting the premises of Michelle Bourke for the purpose of preventing her from doing what she was lawfully allowed to do.
The case was adjourned for sentencing to last week.
In a victim impact statement, Ms. Bourke said she never imagined ‘she would feel like a prisoner in her own home’.
She suffered from panic attacks at the time and her residence became a “place of constant fear and anxiety”.
The court heard the gate has remained almost permanently open since the case was heard a year ago.
Bourke offered Eric and Michelle Bourke a portion of land to build a new entrance but this option was refused planning permission. He has since divested ownership of his lands to his niece Karen Bourke.
Defending barrister Diarmuid Connollly said the matter was a right of way issue which should have been resolved through a civil case before a “siege mentality” took hold for both sides.
The defendant had lived “an utterly blameless life” with no previous convictions.
Judge Eoin Garavan said he was concerned that Bourke has shown little insight, reflection or remorse.
The defendant had almost developed “an obsession” with the gate, but he was 'a decent man' and the judge believed this is the end of the issue.
Judge Garavan imposed a one-year jail term, suspended on condition that Bourke does not interfere with the gate save for necessary movement of cattle.
(Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme).