‘Neighbour from hell’ denied gun licence

A JUDGE yesterday described a former Department of Defence engineer as “a neighbour from hell” and denied his appeal against a garda refusal to grant him a firearms licence.

Jim Hosford Lynch, 55, from Baile Ard, Belvelly, Cobh, Co Cork, had sought licences for two shotguns, but had been refused by gardaí on several occasions since 1996.

Cobh District Court heard relations between Mr Lynch, and his in-laws, Mr and Ms McDonagh, had not been good and this seemed to be exacerbated by the fact they were neighbours and there were disputes over property boundaries.

Sergeant Ger Shortiss said that in 1996 Mr Lynch called to Cobh garda station in a very “upset” and “tearful state” and told him if gardaí didn’t take his guns away he might harm himself, or his sister-in-law, Bernadette McDonagh.

He voluntarily surrendered the guns a short time later.

Mr Lynch admitted he had a nervous breakdown the same year and was off work for up to eight weeks, but denied he made any such statement to Sergeant Shortiss.

He said after the breakdown the Department of Defence re-employed him and he was one of the few civilian employees at the Haulbowline naval base allowed into restricted areas.

On December 13 last, Sally O’Hanlon, of the voluntary Victims of Crime organisation, received a call from Mr Lynch during which she alleged that he told her he had taken out a contract on his neighbours and that “a person was on the way down from Limerick to do it”.

Ms O’Hanlon also alleged that Mr Lynch quoted her a price list for breaking limbs, or “getting the total job done”.

“This caused me great alarm and anxiety. I was extremely upset,” Ms O’Hanlon said.

She said her service was confidential, but under the circumstances she felt no option but to report the incident to Supt Barry McPolin in Togher garda station.

He in turn reported it to Cobh gardaí who went to the McDonagh’s house, advised them of the threat and carried out a review of their security.

Det Insp Martin Dorney told the court that gardaí launched an investigation into the incident, which is still ongoing.

Mr Lynch’s solicitor, John Hussey, told Judge Pattwell that because that investigation hadn’t been completed his client should be presumed innocent.

Mr Lynch also denied the claims made by Ms O’Hanlon.

Judge Michael Pattwell heard Mr Lynch say he was unhappy with the way gardaí were handling complaints made by him against his neighbours.

Mr Lynch wrote a letter to then Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, in which he said he was “following” the Cobh-based garda superintendent Pat Sheahan.

“I took that as a threat to my safety and security,” Supt Sheahan said.

Judge Pattwell retired for nearly three-quarters of an hour to review all the evidence.

When he re-emerged from his chamber he said that Ms O’Hanlon acted correctly in telling the gardaí what Mr Lynch had said and that he believed her.

The judge said there seemed to be an ongoing and very bitter dispute between Mr Lynch and his in-laws, who lived next door.

But he added the weight of evidence pointed to Mr Lynch being the aggressor.

“He appears to me to be the proverbial neighbour from hell,” Judge Pattwell said.

He said he also believed the testimony of Sergeant Shortiss, especially as Mr Lynch had voluntarily handed over his guns.

In addition, Judge Pattwell said that having read Mr Lynch’s letter to Michael McDowell he considered it to contain “innuendo and paranoid invective”.

Mr Lynch had earlier claimed that “following” Supt Sheahan referred to following a paper trail of how his complaints had been handled by the gardaí.

Judge Pattwell described this as a “weak attempt” at an excuse.

He refused to grant Mr Lynch the gun licences.