A JUDGE has granted a female teacher a five-year civil restraining order against a pensioner with an alleged “dangerous obsession”.
At a district court in Clare, Judge Adrian Harris has granted the five year restraining order to the woman against the pensioner after hearing that anonymous cards he sent to her caused the teacher ‘great upset”.
The anonymous cards sent in 2020, 2021 and again in 2025 included a Valentine’s Card, a Deepest Sympathy Card, a Thank You card, a Happy Christmas card and a Congratulations on Your New Baby and a Congratulations on your new Home cards.
Solicitor, John Casey for the woman said that as a result of the anonymous card-sending his client “couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat and she has undergone counselling to deal with it”.
Granting the woman the five year order, Judge Adrian Harris said that the man’s actions had brought about “huge upset and fear” for the young woman.
Mr Casey told the court that there was a “creepiness” in sending the woman the anonymous cards.
Mr Casey said that the man had made a written “self serving” apology to the woman where he makes reference to feeling envy towards the woman.
Mr Casey said: “That is a dangerous obsession to have.”
Mr Casey described the man’s apology as “too little, too late”.
Mr Casey said that investigations at the local post office determined that the mystery sender of the cards was in fact a neighbour of the woman’s.
Mr Casey said unfortunately as the sender of the cards turns out to be a neighbour, his client is stuck living close to this man.
Mr Casey said that the card sending resulted in the woman contacting the Gardai.
Civil restraining orders were introduced to deal with stalking behaviour and Mr Casey said that his client “has done nothing to bring this upon herself and this is a very fitting case for a civil restraining order”.
Mr Casey said that the woman received her first card from the then mystery sender in 2020 and it was sent to her school through An Post.
He said that the first card was a blank card with a ‘Thank You’ and his client felt “very unsettled “and she didn’t know what it was about.
Later in 2020, the woman received another anonymous card on December 21st saying “Happy Christmas Friend” and Mr Casey said that “she was very worried at the time – she thought that it might be from a disgruntled parent”.
Mr Casey said that the woman received a Valentine’s Card in February 2021 saying ‘Totally and utterly head over heels’.
Mr Casey said: “She found this extremely unsettling and it had a huge impact on her professionally.”
Mr Casey said that the teacher has received great support from her employer.
Mr Casey said that for some strange reason, the card sending stopped for four years and recommenced in May of last year when she received a card entitled ‘For you’ and there was an upside down ’T’.
Mr Casey said that the cards continued to come and commented
“He has never spoken to her and she has never spoken to him”.
Solicitor, Mary Cuffe for the man said that she asked her client why he did what he did and he told her that he had an envy towards the woman where she was starting off in her life and people calling to her home and no one came to his door.
Ms Cuffe said that her client has told her repeatedly “I am no threat to her”.
Ms Cuffe said that her client was quite depressed and incredibly anxious at the time of sending the cards.
She said that he is incredibly embarrassed and humiliated by his behaviour “and told me ‘I can’t believe I did this. I have never been before a court before and I have no previous criminal convictions’” .
Ms Cuffe said that her client told her that “it was a period of my life where things were not going well for me”.
She said: “Repeatedly he told me ‘I don’t constitute a threat’.”
Ms Cuffe said that her client would consent to a one year civil restraining order but believes that a five year order is excessive.
The woman and the man were present in court for the hearing.
Mr Casey told the court that his client is concerned that the man has not sought professional help.
He said: “With best will in the world this may happen again and if there is a five year order in existence that might make him stop.”
If the man is convicted of breaching the order over the next five years he faces a prison term.
