Judge grants restraining order for five years in neighbours’ dispute
Carlow Court House. Photo: Michael O'Rourke
A NEIGHBOUR dispute that a Carlow woman told the court dated back to 2012 and which she said included her being knocked to the ground in an assault, ended with a five-year civil restraining order at Carlow District Court after Judge Geraldine Carthy said the case was “not really about a bin, it’s about much more than a bin.”
The woman, who shares a wall and a fence with the respondent, told the court that the friction began in 2012 when “something as simple as my dog getting out” would bother him. She said he would stand at his gate “staring at me or my husband.” “I put a fence up so we could no longer see into each other’s houses,” she said.
“The guards were being called twice a week. It is embarrassing and distressing,” she told the court.
She described one occasion when the family was painting their house. “Our two sons were helping out, it was all hands on deck,” she said. Power washing the wall was part of the job, she explained, and while they were doing it, her neighbour “started screaming that he had been sprayed with the hose,” adding that “multiple guards were called out.” “It resulted in nothing. It always resulted in nothing,” she said.
“This continued on until late 2015. I was on my way to my mam’s when I was physically assaulted by him and knocked to the ground,” she said, claiming he hit her “full force”.
She said the matter went to the district court, adding: “I got a cheque in the post for €500 and no apology.” On the advice of gardaí, the family installed CCTV around their home. “That did work. He was still standing at the gate every time we came home, but we ignored it and went about our business,” she said, adding that the situation had “taken its toll on the family.”
She told the court that things were fine until September of this year, when her neighbour began putting his bins on the path at the entrance to her house. She showed the judge a video in which the respondent can be heard shouting loudly at her husband to “put my bin down”.
“He’s putting it up on the pathway that we built,” she said.
The following week, on 8 September, she said her husband put out their bin and moved their neighbour’s bin away from the path in front of their house, which resulted in gardaí being called at around 12.30am.
“I said ‘can you please stop putting the bin outside our house’ and he said ‘it’s not your road’,” she said. “I’ve put plants and pots out. Hopefully, it will deter him.” She also showed the judge photos of signs he had allegedly placed on the bins “provoking” her. “I’m not able for this anymore. He won’t leave me alone, he’s provoking my husband through taunting me,” she said. “We want peace and quiet, we want our house to be a safe place where we can go in and out.” She said gardaí had advised her to seek a civil restraining order.
Solicitor for the respondent John O’Sullivan put it to her that “the gardaí had said to my client that it’s the safest place to put the bins.” She said they had not spoken to her about this.
“It’s not a matter for the gardaí to advise where you put your bins,” Judge Carthy said.
Mr O’Sullivan suggested an adjournment so the garda could attend court, but when asked, he did not have the garda’s name. “There is no point in me adjourning the matter, you don’t have the name of a garda,” said Judge Carthy.
Giving evidence, the respondent said he originally left his bins by his car, but the bin company said they hadn’t seen them there. He said his house is on a corner with no pavement, so he left them on the path in front of his neighbour’s house.
“I have no front, no path, just a curve. If you put bins there when cars park, you can’t see the bins. It’s obvious it’s the only place to put the bin unless it’s on the road,” he said. “It’s not her property.” He said that on one occasion his neighbour grabbed his bin. “That’s when I yelled,” he said, referring to the video. He told the court that his daughter rang gardaí, who said it was a civil matter and that he couldn’t put bins on the road. He claimed a garda had spoken into the neighbour’s CCTV camera to explain this.
“The garda spoke to the camera?” asked Judge Carthy, incredulously.
In reviewing the facts and making her decision, Judge Carthy noted that the respondent “didn’t challenge the evidence of an assault against her” and took into account the footage and photos handed in.
“The respondent denies the allegation and has concentrated his evidence on bins, but it’s not really about a bin, it’s about much more than a bin. It is about the constant ongoing harassment at the hands of the defendant,” she said.
She granted the restraining order for five years.
