Woman who made 6,000 abusive calls to solicitor escapes jail

A woman who made over 6,000 abusive telephone calls during one month to a solicitor has been told she will go to jail if she ever contacts the man or his family again.

Antoinette Lynch (aged 58), of Clonmel Road, Ballymun, Dublin pleaded guilty to harassment of Darach Connolly by telephone at Connolly solicitor’s office between February 1, 2005 and July 19, 2008.

She also pleaded guilty to harassment of Alistair Rutherdale between January 1, 2005 and July 17, 2008 by telephoning and calling at his home address.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that between June 16 and July 16, 2008 Lynch made 6,372 calls to the victims, over 6,000 of which were made to Mr Connolly's home, office and mobile phone.

The harassment arose out of a family dispute over the estate of Lynch’s late uncle, which Mr Connolly and Mr Rutherdale, a barrister, were hired to handle in the High Court.

Garda Olive Holden told Ms Karen O'Connor BL, prosecuting, that the calls, made from as early as 6am until after midnight, were “increasingly abusive, foul mouthed and irrational”.

On July 18, 2008, during a 35-minute period from 7.45am Lynch rang Mr Connolly's family home 80 times.

When the phone was lifted on one occasion Lynch said: “You are scum”.

Gda Holden said that Lynch would leave messages on Mr Connolly's home phone describing him variously as “a scumbag, sick, a parasite, a f**king moron”.

She said that on April 19, 2008 Mr Connolly and his wife saw Lynch in the garden of their home.

Ms O'Connor told Judge Patrick McCartan that the harassment had “a very big impact” on the family’s quality of life, especially as a result of the frequently “offensive and insulting” comments made down the phone.

In 2005 Lynch was removed as the executioner to the will of her late uncle, a bachelor who died without a will in 1998. Mr Connolly and Mr Rutherdale were hired by Lynch’s sister to handle the estate and any legal issues around it.

Soon after this Lynch also began ringing and texting Mr Rutherdale.

Ms Lynch called to his home on a number of occasions and rang the doorbell incessantly, sometimes up to 40 times.

On one occasion she began ringing their home doorbell at 5.30am.

The court heard that on another occasion Lynch spoke to Mr Rutherdale’s wife over the telephone and said: “If your husband values your family he’ll do something about this.”

Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, defending, said that since the day of being charged his client has had no contact with the victims or their families.

He said that the victims have no desire to see Lynch jailed and that they “just want the matter to end”.

A medical report from Dr Helen O’Neill said that Lynch, who has no previous convictions, has features of “paranoid personality disorder”.

Judge McCartan said he was “disturbed” to hear that Lynch still felt the administration of the estate was an issue for her and ordered her to take an oath that she would not interfere or trouble Mr Connolly or Mr Rutherdale or their families or staff.

He warned: “If you are brought back I will send you to prison”.

Lynch was discharged from the charges having taken the oath to stay away from the two men.

The case has also been adjourned generally with liberty to the gardaí to bring it back before the courts should she break her oath.