A bereaved father said to hold the belief wrongly that an Offaly man had a role in his son's death some years ago has been restrained by the High Court from hiring a contract killer to carry out his execution.
Mr Justice Thomas Smyth yesterday granted the interim injunction to Joseph Gallagher snr (61 ), a publican, and his son, Joseph jnr (24), Pullough, Tullamore, Co Offaly. The order restrains Éamon Touhey, Rahan, Tullamore, Co Offaly, his family and/or agents from hiring a contract killer to execute Joseph jnr. The injunction also prevents Mr Touhey watching, besetting or communicating in any way with the Gallagher family.
Alan Toal, for the Gallaghers, said Mr Touhey believed that Mr Gallagher jnr was one of three people responsible for the "murder" of his son Shane Touhey, whose body was discovered in the Brosna river in February 2002. That belief, Mr Toal said, was vehemently denied and rejected out of hand by the Gallagher family. An inquest had concluded that Mr Touhey had drowned.
However, he added, Mr Touhey was now engaged in a campaign to undo the wrong he believed was done to his son.
Mr Toal said the unusual application was being brought in light of information obtained by Mr Gallagher to the effect that attempts were being made by Mr Tuohey "to hire assassins" to kill Joseph jnr. His clients were concerned that the Garda had taken little or no action arising out of this information. In an affidavit, Mr Gallagher said gardaí had sufficient information to arrest Éamon Tuohey but had declined to do so.
Mr Justice Smyth granted the injunction and made the matter returnable to Monday week. Mr Tuohey was not represented in court as the application was brought on an ex parte (one side only represented) basis. However, the judge said he would not make an order preventing Mr Tuohey from engaging with the media. He also directed that the Garda Commissioner should be made a notice party to the proceedings.
In an affidavit, Mr Gallagher snr exhibited a Garda document. He said that in 2002, gardaí had received "reliable information" that Mr Tuohey had approached "known criminals" in Limerick and offered to pay them €10,000 to "kill the son of a publican and a hackney driver in the Tullamore area".
He said they also had information that Mr Tuohey had offered to provide "any type of firearm required" and spoke of a number of hand guns that had come into the country. The Garda information was that the criminals had agreed to take on the job.
Mr Gallagher said he had received a phone call from an acquaintance a year ago who had a relationship with a paramilitary organisation. That person told him that, in a meeting with an associate of his, Mr Tuohey had "made overtures to have somebody execute the son of publican" from the Tullamore area. He was told €5,000 was mentioned.
Mr Gallagher said his fear was that Mr Tuohey would "continue to canvass candidates until such a time as one of them acted on the overtures made."