Ten centenarian coins fraudulently claimed to be returned to the President

TEN silver centenarian coins along with letters and centenarian bounty cheques from the President of Ireland are to be returned to the office of the President of Ireland.

That was the ruling of Judge Andrew Cody at Portlaoise District Court on Friday when a Police Property Application came before him for consideration.

Those with an interest in the property - Áras An Uachtaráin along with Seamus and Margaret Bergin had been notified that the issue was coming before the court for consideration.

Solicitor Philip Meagher who had represented Margaret Bergin, who had been jailed for Social Welfare fraud, said that she had no interest in laying claim to the items The application before Judge Cody concerned the property and cheques that were issued by The President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins on behalf of the State to the late John Bergin, who died over 30 years ago in November 1993.

Judge Cody noted that : “No effort was made to register his death by his son Seamus or daughter-in-law Margaret.” He said Margaret Bergin had pleaded guilty to several charges of theft and larceny relating to the claiming of her late father-in-law’s pension over a period in excess of 28 years.

Judge Cody said the issue surrounding the medals and centenarian bounty cheques, “only came to light when an amateur genealogist by the name of Mr McCoy was undertaking research and discovered that there was a person purportedly living in Laois by the name of John Bergin who was reputedly 110-years of age and contacted the office of the President to inquire about their records relating to the late John Bergin and the centenarian bounty.” Gardaí were subsequently alerted and they conducted a search of the Bergin home and found, in a handbag belonging to Margret Bergin, the 10 silver centenarian coins, the letters from the President and the 10 centenarian bounty cheques.

Mrs Bergin was arrested and acknowledged she had claimed the pension falsely or that she had signed documents in the name of the late Mr John Bergin.

Judge Cody said: “While Margret Bergin received a sentence of five years and six months for Social Welfare fraud and Judge Johnson suspended the final three years and six months of that sentence for a period of six years, she was not prosecuted for any offence involving the centenarian’s letters, cheques or coins and accordingly these were not the subject matter of any criminal prosecution.” In his sentencing Judge Johnson said the following:-‘I cannot believe that correspondence which had been received at least annually in the name of John Bergin could not have been seen by other members of the household particularly the correspondence and centenarian coins from Áras An Uachtaráin which would have been unique and noticeable..... I cannot help but feel, despite her assertions to the contrary, that Mrs Bergin has allowed herself to be offered as a sacrificial lamb for the offending and that full responsibility does not rest exclusively with her.’ Judge Cody went on to say: “In my view the responsibility for dealing with any correspondence arriving to any household decades after a person has passed away rests with their next of kin, living at that address, and in this case that is his son Seamus. In relation to this application John Bergin’s son Seamus continued for 10 years to accept these coins, cheques and letters without ever alerting the President's office or returning them to their rightful owner.

“I am satisfied that these medals were in the possession of Seamus Bergin and/or Margret Bergin as a result of deliberate and repeated fraud and have no rightful claim whatsoever on the medals, letters and coins I am satisfied that they should be returned to their rightful owner, the office of the President of Ireland.” The Police Property Act provides that a can make an order for the delivery of the property to the person appearing to the court to be the rightful owner or, if the owner cannot be ascertained, make such order as the court considers proper. This may be done even if no person has been charged with an offence in connection with the property in question.

The tradition by which centenarians receive what is described as a bounty goes back to the first President of Ireland Douglas Hyde in the 1940s and people who have reached their 100th birthday receive a gift from the State of €2,540, a letter from the President of Ireland, wishing them a happy birthday and congratulating them for their longevity and a special commemorative coin. Similar gifts and letters are sent on their 101st and every subsequent birthday.