Feuding Limerick families make peace gesture

Members of two Limerick families embroiled in a three year long dispute buried the hatchet today when they shook hands outside Limerick Circuit Courthouse.

The gesture was made after 29-year-old Timmy Casey, Clonlong, Southill, Limerick, admitted, threatening to kill Anthony Kelly outside his home in O'Malley Park Limerick, on March 11 last year.

Mr Kelly is a brother of the late Limerick alderman, Michael Kelly who died in June 2004.

The self confessed criminal died four weeks after he suffered a mystery gun shot wound to his head.

His family has continued to deny that the gunshot wound was self inflicted and claim he was shot by a lone gunman, however nobody has ever been charged in relation to his death.

Anthony Kelly even orchestrated the exhumation of his brother's body, shortly after he was buried, to dispel certain media reports which suggested that a gun had been buried in his brother's coffin.

Earlier today, Limerick Circuit heard that there has been "ongoing difficulties" between the Casey and Kelly families for the past three years resulting in a number of incidents which have given rise to serious garda concern.

On March 11, 2004, the court heard that Timmy Casey, threatened to kill Anthony Kelly outside his home while he was giving an interview to TV3 news about a separate incident which had occured at his home the night before.

In his threat, which was caught on camera, Mr Casey warned the father of six that he was going to murder him and bury him with his brother Michael.

"I'm going to murder you. I'll kill you, your dead. I'll bury you down on top of Michael," said Mr Casey.

Counsel for the state John O'Sullivan said the threats were particularly upsetting for Mr Kelly as they were issued "not long after his brother's death".

When called to the witness box Anthony Kelly admitted to Judge Moran that there had been difficulties between his family and the Casey family for a three year period but stressed that there "has been no hassle" between the families for the past three months.

"I was given an undertaking before today that there would be no more trouble and I accept it. I don't want anyone going to jail. My family and the community are living in peace now and I it wouldn't help things if anyone went to jail," said Mr Kelly.

The court heard that Mr Casey, one of eight chidren, has 29 previous convictions, and was subject to the terms of two seperate suspended sentences at the time of the offence in March last year.

One of the suspended sentences was imposed just three weeks before he threatened to kill Mr Kelly, the court heard.

Taking into account Mr Casey's guilty plea, Judge Carroll Moran, who also acknowleged Mr Kelly's "very christian attitutude" imposed a 12 month suspended jail sentence.

After the proceedings Mr Kelly and Mr Casey shook hands outside the court house.