A jury in Tralee Circuit Court has been told they'll have to decide if a Kenmare man threatened to kill a man he thought was having an affair with his partner.
57-year-old John Foley of Kenmare town, is standing trial on three counts of threatening to kill Pat Harney, and one count of the criminal damage of Mr Harney’s house, all in March and April 2020.
The prosecution has argued Mr Foley was suffering from irrational beliefs, that his partner was having an affair with Mr Harney.
Pat Harney gave evidence that between 12 March 2020 and 2nd April 2020, he got several different phone calls from John Foley, who threatened to kill him and burn down his house.
In one call, he allegedly told Mr Harney, “It’s time to get the petrol”, and in another, as Mr Harney installed CCTV on his house, John Foley allegedly told him, “Cameras won’t save you at all”.
John Foley is also accused of throwing paint all over the footpath outside Mr Harney’s house, all over his front door, and with splatters on the windows and wall.
The court heard John Foley thought Mr Harney was having an affair with his partner Peggy Delaney; Ms Delaney told the court she had broken up with Mr Foley two years prior, and denies the affair.
The court heard Mr Foley’s belief was based on Ms Delaney visiting Pat Harney’s house to clean it, and that they were regularly calling and texting; John Foley would refer to Pat Harney as “lover boy” in front of Ms Delaney.
The prosecution say there’s not one scintilla of evidence of this affair, but even if they were having a flagrant affair, it would not be a lawful excuse to threaten to kill someone.
Prosecuting barrister Tom Rice said these were baseless, drunken suspicions, and that the affair was a red herring by the defence to detract from the facts of the case.
The court heard Ms Delaney and Mr Harney did later begin a relationship, which has since ended.
Mr Foley denies he ever threatened to kill Mr Harney, and that any phone calls he made were him telling Mr Harney to stay away from Peggy Delaney.
Ms Delaney gave evidence that on 2nd April 2020, Mr Foley left the house with a shotgun and said he was going to kill Pat Harney, leading Ms Delaney to ring 999 and local gardaí.
Defending barrister Katie O’Connell, instructed by solicitor Eimear Griffin, submitted Mr Foley did not say that, and was carrying a legally-held gun to protect animals he was going to feed at the time.
Ms O’Connell submitted that when Pat Harney contacted the gardaí after Mr Foley threw an old can of paint at the footpath in front of his house, Mr Harney never mentioned any threats on his life.
The jury of seven men and five women were told they will have to decide whether Mr Foley did threaten to kill Mr Harney, and it’s expected they will begin deliberations tomorrow morning.
