Woman's 1,100 calls to ex and new lover

Nora Devaney refused to accept the relationship was over and continued to bombard the couple with calls even when the woman pleaded with her to stop because her father had been given only six days to live.

The unemployed secretary (32) from Leitrim Mor, Connemara, Co Galway, continued to make nuisance calls even when she was arrested, charged and granted bail.

Judge Raymond Groarke fined her €2,000 at Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, although he said he could have imposed a two-year suspended sentence on each charge of harassment and making nuisance calls.

Silent

He relented after her defence said she wished to work abroad and would be prohibited from travelling in that event.

In February, 2008, Feithinn Gorman and Delores Kelly had complained to Garda Emma Kerins that they were receiving hundreds of silent phone calls from a private number. They suspected it was Devaney.

Then Miss Kelly's father was diagnosed with a rapid type of cancer and was given days to live, she explained. She pleaded with Devaney to leave them alone. When Garda Kerins warned off Devaney, the calls ended, but then resumed in a few days.

Devaney then began ringing the couple from public phone boxes around Galway city and drove up and down their street and parked outside their home.

Miss Kelly was afraid to stay home alone. In August, they made a formal complaint to Garda Kerins.

Between August 2, 2007 and April 2, 2008, Devaney rang the couple 1,100 times, her phone records showed. Garda Kerins told the court: "The records show she was making 49 calls a day to the couple."

She began to send numerous texts to Mr Gorman calling his new girlfriend "that bitch" and warned she had "better watch herself".

One text demanded: "Why would you be with her and not with me? Can you please call me or otherwise I will keep ringing that bitch every single day."

Devaney was charged with harassing the couple and was granted bail in October, 2008, but she made another 20 calls while on bail.

Gardai brought her back to court in December that year to have the bail revoked. However, she pleaded guilty at that stage and promised to stop.

The case was put off until May last year when the court heard the calls had stopped. The judge adjourned the case until yesterday on condition Devaney stop making the calls.

mlavery@herald.ie