Man to be sentenced later for harassment of ex-partner

A man who harassed his ex-partner and her boyfriend as he was unwilling to accept the demise of his relationship with her is to be sentenced later at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Emmett Kavanagh tormented Ms Jackie Delaney with text messages and phone calls and posted two bullet cartridges to her with her new partner’s name on the envelope.

Kavanagh (aged 32) of Elm Mount Avenue, Beaumont pleaded guilty to harassing Jackie Delaney and Darren Cullen at various locations by persistently pestering them on dates between February 14 and May 14 2007.

Garda Patrick O’Gorman told Ms Cathleen Noctor BL, prosecuting, that Kavanagh was in a long-term relationship with Ms Delaney but it ended in 2004. They have four children together.

He said there was no contact between Kavanagh and Ms Delaney from 2004 until 2007 when Ms Delaney started going out with Mr Cullen.

On Valentine’s Day in 2007, Kavanagh showed up out of the blue at Ms Delaney’s workplace with flowers and a Valentine’s card which he told her were from their children.

“He was aware Ms Delaney had a new boyfriend but said to her ‘Wait till he finds out you have four kids,” Gda O’Gorman told Ms Noctor.

“Ms Delaney then told him that Mr Cullen knew about their children,” he said.

Ms Delaney started to receive unwelcome text messages and phone calls from Kavanagh and he threatened in one text that he would shoot Mr Cullen.

Gardaí cautioned Kavanagh on several occasions about the threatening text messages and he agreed not to contact Ms Delaney anymore.

He told gardaí he was “upset” because he was not invited to his son’s confirmation.

He recommenced phoning her and telling her what she was wearing. He also started following her.

He sent text messages telling her that “the kids don’t belong to him, you won’t stop me from seeing my kids."

He started intimidating Mr Cullen and pulling up outside their home, doing handbrake turns in his car and shouting at him “you’re a dead man.”

Mr Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said when Kavanagh approached Ms Delaney with “unwanted gifts” this sparked him off.

“It seems Mr Kavanagh wouldn’t let go of the past and when gardaí gave him several chances he denied everything and said it was always someone else’s fault,” said Mr Le Vert.

“He began to use heroin to take away from the pain of losing Ms Delaney and his children and this led to a downward spiral,” he said.

“He is sorry for the hell he put Ms Delaney and Mr Cullen through.”

Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned sentencing until February for a probation report.