A 77-year-old great-grandmother was prepared to go to jail yesterday over a licence for a dead dog.
The pensioner, who is a mother of 15, a grandmother of 40 and a great-grandmother, was due to present herself at Limerick Prison yesterday for failure to pay a fine imposed earlier this year at Limerick District Court.
Mrs Kitty Moloney, South Claughaun Road, Limerick, evaded prison at the 11th hour after her family paid a €200 fine for not having a licence for a dog which she claims she didn't own.
Her family paid the fine yesterday just hours before Mrs Moloney was due to go to jail for five days. They said she had kept details of her troubles with the law a closely guarded secret until Monday night.
Mrs Moloney, who suffers from asthma, was said to be "too nervous" to speak to journalists. However, her daughter, Ms Mary Moloney, said the family were shocked when they discovered their elderly mother was facing jail. "We were very annoyed with our mother because she hadn't told us ... She's very sick at the moment but she's a strong woman and very determined."
She said although the fine had been paid, the family were not happy with the way things had developed. "My mother is quite disappointed because of all this publicity that she's getting ... She's not happy at the fine being paid because she doesn't think she should have to pay a fine in the first place for a dog that she didn't own."
The Alsatian dog at the centre of the controversy had belonged to a relative who passed away. The dog was put down earlier this year. "My uncle, who lived next door, owned the dog, and when he passed away my mother continued feeding the dog. Apparently she was told that she owned the dog so she had to pay the licence. So she said she wasn't paying the licence because she didn't own the dog and was just feeding it. The dog has been put down - the dog has been dead for a few months. Apparently, the pound came and took it away - it was very old.
"In fairness, if you knock at any door in this part of Limerick and ask anyone to produce a dog licence I'm sure you'd have a hard time getting one."
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, expressed regret that the 77-year-old had been faced with a period of imprisonment, writes Conor Lally.
When asked if the threat of jail had been fair, he said: "I think that nobody in Ireland is threatened with jail, as we found out in recent weeks, unless a court sends them to prison. And there's a system of justice there with appeals and balancing mechanisms in it.
"It was a point of principle rather than a point of injustice. I think that in the circumstances I'm very glad that common sense prevailed."