Banshee-style figure erected during campaign of harrassment in Mayo

A man erected a banshee-type figure during a campaign of harassment against his elderly neighbours, a court has heard.

Michael King, aged 54, of Glenview, Glenamoy, pleaded guilty at a sitting of Belmullet District Court to harassing his neighbour Stephen Naughton.

Garda Sergeant Aidan Gill told the court that the harassment and anti-social behaviour had been ongoing since 2019 with the offending reported to the gardaí in November 2023.

He said King would stare at the injured party when he met him out walking and dumped rubbish and leaves over his neighbour’s wall.

A banshee-type figure was erected which was pointed directly toward Mr. Naughton's kitchen window.

On another occasion, King threw stones onto his neighbour’s roof. Sergeant Gill said King’s actions caused a significant amount of distress to the Naughton household.

They installed CCTV at a cost of €2,000 with some of King’s actions captured on camera.

King is unemployed and has previous convictions. The court heard he is a tenant of Mayo County Council and is paying €38 a week for the property.

He told the court he could not remember exactly when he last worked.

When asked why he had behaved in this way, King said he felt the installation of CCTV was an “invasion of his privacy".

“You are going to pay for the CCTV,” stated Judge James Faughnan.

“That’s a start,” the judge added. Judge Faughnan gave King three months to come up with €2,000 and told him that if he was struggling to find the money then he should “get a job like everyone else".

The judge also directed that Mayo County Council be informed of the conviction being recorded.

He said if there was any further offending then King should be removed from the house by the local authority.

“How dare you. Getting a house for little or nothing and making life a misery for somebody else,” Judge Faughnan told King.

The case was adjourned until September 9.

* Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.