A BANTRY man who was ‘sandwiched’ between two neighbours claimed in court recently that he was harassed by both.
James Wiseman’s documented complaints led to the State bringing a prosecution case against Damien McCarthy of 27 Seskin Park and Christy Murnane of 29 Seskin Park.
Both were charged with harassing James Wiseman by verbally abusing him – between March 23rd 2020 and January 29th 2022 – and by playing loud music in the adjoining property.
In evidence for the State at Bantry District Court, James Wiseman – who has since been relocated by the local authority to another property at 64 Reenrour East – said he had lived alone and peaceably with his neighbours for many years.
He said that changed after an incident on March 23rd 2020. It began with him asking Damien McCarthy to return his chainsaw, only to inadvertently receive a text that was not meant for him, which said: “Jimmy took his chainsaw back, like I said he would, the thick c**t.”
‘I asked him (Damien McCarthy) about it but he denied it,’ James Wiseman stated in evidence. What followed was, according to the documentation presented to gardaí, a litany of incidents that included ‘terrible banging on the wall’.
‘Vile things were said about me and my family, some of whom are deceased,’ the witness added. ‘This was going on every day, persistently, but I never retorted in any way. ‘
The man said his neighbours levelled wholly untrue and bizarre accusations, calling him a ‘traitor, paedophile, rapist’.
‘The only solace I got was when I left my house,’ he said. ‘I was going mental in my house. I couldn’t cook, or eat, and my partner can attest to this.’ On one occasion, he said he had to listen to a bodhrán being played all night and the sound of Damien McCarthy laughing like a hyena.
‘It was great fun for them, but not for me,’ said the witness, who is now aged 63. He also alleged that on the day he moved out, the two men sat watching him, and his brother, in a menacing manner.
In cross-examination by Flor Murphy, the solicitor acting for both defendants, the witness said he felt he could no longer live in that house.
He described his former friends, and drinking companions, as ‘the neighbours from hell’, but he denied seeking to use them as an excuse to be relocated to Dublin, closer to his partner.
‘To move from my house was very hard. For 19 years, I was happy there,’ said James Wiseman, who pointed out that the situation only started to deteriorate at the start of Covid.
‘Did you ever threaten to get someone to put a bullet in them?’ asked Mr Murphy. The witness replied saying: ‘That is not true. I said I would pay someone to sort out the business that was going on.’
Court presenter, Insp Triona O’Mahony, asked the witness why he reported the incidents to the gardaí and in reply he said: ‘Because it was anti-social behaviour.’
In evidence in his own defence, Damien McCarthy said there is no sound proofing, or insulation, between the houses and you could hear someone putting a plug into a wall socket.
It was Judge Marie Keane who asked the accused if he had sent the text in error to James Wiseman and, after some prevarication, Damien McCarthy admitted he had sent it.
‘I think he wanted a transfer and we ended up being the scapegoat,’ said Damien McCarthy. ‘If the behaviour was that bad, I would have got a warning from the Council, and I never got one.’
Christy Murnane also gave evidence in his own defence. He claimed there was ‘no evidence’ to support the accusations being made by the State, or its witness. He claimed: ‘This is a waste of time.’
After considering the evidence, Judge Keane held the view: ‘These men had little else to do but torment their neighbour.
‘This was appalling carry on. It was a campaign of intimidation during Covid – a time when people relied on their neighbours.’
Judge Keane was of the view that Damien McCarthy was the more culpable of the two and fined him €300 for harassing his neighbour.
The judge acknowledged that Christy Murnane had tried to ‘make peace’ and she fined him €200 for his part in harassing James Wiseman.
Mr Murphy indicated that the convictions against both of his clients would be appealed at the next sitting of Bantry Circuit Court.
