At a glance
Declan Haughney and Gareth Coakley are sentenced for attempting to withdraw the pension of a dead man after dragging his body to a post office
Haughney is sentenced to two years, while Coakley faces 18 months in prison
The pair attempted to deceive a post office in County Carlow into handing over the pension of the late Peadar Doyle, 66
- Published
Two men have been sentenced for attempting to use a dead man's body to deceive a post office and claim his pension in the Irish Republic.
Declan Haughney, 41, was sentenced to two years and 37-year-old Gareth Coakley was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The incident occurred in Carlow town in January 2022.
On Friday the Circuit Criminal Court in Carlow was shown CCTV footage of both men dragging the lifeless body of 66-year-old Peadar Doyle, who had a hat on, from his home to the post office.
The footage also showed a member of the public, Claire Knight, stopping the two men to check on Mr Doyle after seeing him being dragged down the street from his home, Irish broadcaster RTÃ reports.
Ms Knight followed them to the post office while on her phone, calling an ambulance.
CCTV footage showed both men dragging the body into the post office and skipping the queue to the counter.
Mr Doyle is then seen lying on the floor and Haughney is seen attempting to speak to him while accusing staff of killing his uncle.
Garda (Irish police officer) Joe OâKeeffe, who was called to the post office, told the court that Haughney said to staff: "Heâs dead now. If you paid me he wouldnât be here."
Haughney attempted to withdraw the pension for a second time, the court saw in the footage.
Garda O'Keefe said Mr Doyle was declared dead by paramedics on the post office floor 40 minutes later after CPR was administered.
The court heard Haughney had attempted to withdraw the pension before the incident but was unable to as he was not a nominated agent of Mr Doyle.
Judge Eugene OâKelly said it was not possible to determine a precise time of death for Mr Doyle but both men were guilty of attempted deception.
The judge added that the two men abandoned Mr Doyle at the post office, which caused public interest in the case and caused hurt to his family, and blamed post office staff for his death rather than seeking help.