Young woman was stalked by 60-year-old man in Dungarvan
After only an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict.
A Dungarvan man has been found guilty of harassing a young woman over a six-month period.
Martin Whelan, of Lackendarra, Ballynamult, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, was charged with harassment contrary to Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
During the trial at Waterford Circuit Court, the 60-year-old was represented by barrister Kate Kelly BL under the instruction of solicitor Maeve Kelly.
The trial was held before a jury of six women and six men.
Prosecutor Shane O’Callaghan BL acted on on behalf of the State.
The complainant was the first witness to appear before the jury.
The young woman described how in September 2023, she saw what she understood to be Whelan pulling his car – a dark-coloured Toyota Avensis - from out behind her on a street in Dungarvan. The woman had been visiting a relative and saw him flashing his lights at her. She pulled out her car to drive home but noticed Whelan tailing her car throughout town.
In the mornings following that incident, she saw Whelan attending the same gym at the same time as her. She dismissed any concern at the time, saying: “I didn’t think things like that happened in this day and age. I knew of him, Dungarvan is a small town. I thought: ‘you’re overthinking it.’”
The woman lived with her family on a cul-de-sac. She described Whelan driving to her home and observing her from his car on multiple occasions, with his window rolled down and holding a phone in the direction of her home. The woman’s mother and father corroborated her accounts of seeing Whelan in his car outside their home –"with a snarly smile".
She also detailed two occasions when she alleged seeing Whelan circling McDonalds while she was parked there with her mother. CCTV footage showed a vehicle matching the description driving in and around McDonalds.
The family installed security cameras on the front of their home. Footage showed a dark car matching the description of the Toyota Avensis repeatedly driving in and turning on the cul-de-sac.
Mr O’Callaghan asked the complainant: “What were you afraid of?”
She replied: “That he would kill me.”
The woman explained that she suffered from mental and physical health difficulties as a result and became afraid to leave her house. She also said that she attempted to change her physical appearance in response to the man’s continuous harassment.
The woman described at least two separate occasions when she claimed to have seen Whelan driving slowly past her place of work. The woman worked with children. During their recess, she witnessed Whelan driving up and down the road next to her workplace. Two witnesses confirmed seeing the Toyota Avensis on those occasions.
The complainant described an encounter with the accused in the town centre while she was with her grandparents. She saw Whelan in the same carpark as them and became distressed. She went into Dealz with her grandmother while her grandfather kept watch at the entrance. After five minutes, both women came out of the shop.
At that same moment, all three saw Whelan coming "from around the corner" in their direction. The women hurried along while the grandfather stayed a few paces behind the accused. CCTV from Dungarvan Shopping Centre places him at that location.
Defence counsel Kate Kelly asked witnesses about the size of Dungarvan, and the likelihood of people bumping into each other. While questioning investigating Garda Sean Flynn, Ms Kelly said that her client maintained that all the related encounters were a "coincidence".
The jury heard in the Garda memorandum of interview that Whelan was going "spinning" around town. He told Gardaí that he knew the woman’s father and that he was "very upset" that "ye thought I was following her".
In his closing speech, State Prosecutor Shane O’Callaghan BL, said that the complainant presented “very clear, very consistent and very credible evidence".
He added that the evidence presented by all witnesses was “entirely consistent” with the complainant's evidence.
Mr. O'Callaghan brought into questioned Whelan’s statement to gardaí that he was just “spinning” in his car.
Mr. O’Callaghan commented to the jury, “a man of his age spinning?”
Defence Counsel for Whelan, Ms. Kate Kelly BL, said in her closing speech that her client is “an ordinary man”.
He is a man who simply enjoys spending time around Dungarvan and “spinning around”, she added.
“He is an unemployed man with plenty time on his hands,” Ms. Kelly said.
After only an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict.
Prosecutor Shane O’Callaghan told Judge Eugene O’Kelly that the State were objecting to bail on advice of An Garda Siochana. A local garda officer informed Judge O’Kelly that it was the opinion of An Garda Siochana that the man would continue to commit offences of a similar nature if granted bail.
The Garda officer told the court that Whelan has a previous conviction of harassment. Judge O’Kelly said this detail was “highly aggravating”.
Whelan's defence counsel said that the man would be open to curfew, staying out of Dungarvan, surrendering his passport and signing on at a Garda Station daily. Gardaí were not satisfied with these terms however and recommended bail refusal.
Judge O'Kelly said that Whelan “displayed certain emotional difficulty” during the course of the trial.
For these reasons and on advice of Gardaí, Judge O’Kelly revoked bail and ordered that the man be taken to prison or into the custody of the Prison Services.
He will appear again in Waterford Circuit Court via video link on April 15 for mention. A sentencing date will be arranged thereafter.
