A MAYO couple told a court their family have been subjected to a campaign of hatred following the death of Joe Deacy in 2017 and they stressed they did nothing wrong.
Peter Byrne and his wife Anne of Gortnasillagh, Swinford both made victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing of a Ballycroy native in Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court who pleaded guilty to harassing them.
Brendan Rowland (30) with an address in Shenley Road, Borehamwood near London admitted to sending 14 anonymous Christmas cards to the Byrnes between December 2018 and December 2019 with each card signed, ‘Joe’.
Twenty-one-year-old Joe Deacy who was from St Alban’s, Hertfordshire, UK was found unconscious outside the Byrne home at 6.45am on August 12, 2017 and died the following day in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. A subsequent post mortem found the cause of death was due to blunt force trauma, which resulted in gardaí opening a murder investigation.
Nobody has been charged with Joe’s death and each year a gathering takes place outside the Byrne home by friends and family of Mr Deacy to mark the anniversary of his death.
The 14 cards sent by Mr Rowland were among 40 cards sent to the Byrnes at special occasions throughout 2019. The messages sent in the Christmas cards included hoping the Byrne’s get a conscience for Christmas and another stated, ‘I hope you have a killer Christmas’.
A black rose was also sent on the 29th wedding anniversary of Mr and Mrs Byrne with a card which Mr Byrne said read, ’29 years I did not get that long’ and was signed ‘Joe’.
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The Byrne family have denied any involvement into the murder and Peter Byrne told Judge Eoin Garavan in his victim impact statement that his family has been subjected to a campaign of hatred. He told the court his family had nothing to do with Joe’s death and did what they could to help him that night.
“Since this tragedy happened we as a family have been subjected to all kinds of nastiness by people known and unknown who do not know what happened just like us. Brendan Rowland is one of these people but he is not the only one.
“We have lived under a cloud for more than seven years and as a family we have endured vicious attacks over this time frame. Each year we have a march outside our home by a small organised group. This group is uninvited and unwelcome. This march stokes anger online and in person hatred towards my family and I,” he said.
Mr Byrne added that he was shocked and appalled to receive a number of cards and described the actions of the people who did this as evil.
“I was horrified to receive cards of this nature given that once I was contacted to say there was a person lying on the driveway of my house, I jumped out of bed and went outside and discovered Joe fully clothed and unconscious.
“I was deeply upset to have received these cards given that my next action was to call 999 and carry out CPR on Joe with the directions of the phone operator and the assistance of my son. I felt intimidated to have received these cards given the fact my next action was to call the gardaí to call to my house before the ambulance left with Joe.
“I was amazed any person could send cards such as these as I went to Joe’s cousin’s house to alert them immediately. I felt particularly offended to have received these cards because myself and my family voluntarily left our home and gave gardaí full access to our house and gave statements to the gardaí that same day. I felt in despair to have received these terrible cards as I do not know what else my family could have done to help Joe that morning. We have no voice with the investigation still alive.
Each August family and friends of Joe Deacy organise a memorial near Swinford to mark his death
“I do not know Brendan Rowland and he does not know me and he does not know what happened with the detailed garda investigation. Yet despite this he has waged a personal campaign of hatred like others towards me and my family. All the cards showed malice and I felt intimidated. It caused terror to me and my family knowing we received these cards knowing we did nothing wrong,”
Anne Byrne told the court that online abuse against her family after Joe’s death spiralled into a hate campaign and described the tone of these cards as frightening and intimidating.
“It is shocking to think that Brendan Rowland has taken pleasure in causing pain to my family in such a vile way. He did not act alone and this is even more frightening and worrying. It did not feel safe in my own home to have these cards sent by unknown cowards who are afraid to write their own name. I felt sick to the pitt of my stomach that the name of the dead person, Joe Deacy, was signed on many of these cards,” she said.
Mrs Byrne added that the joy and pleasure she received from taking cards from family and friends has been taken away from her. She too stated that her family have done nothing wrong and called for the intimidation against her family to stop.
“The posting of these cards to my home has caused terror to my family especially where we did nothing wrong.
“I wish for this hatred to stop as my family was not involved in whatever happened to Joe. We do not know what happened. It has been reported at a preliminary inquest that new lines of enquiry in the investigation have begun and this has given us some hope that the mystery might finally be solved.
“Joe was a lovely young man and I always welcomed him into our home. We have great sympathy for the Deacy family for the loss of their son and we also grieve for Joe,” she stated.
Joe’s grandparents, Martin and Ann Deacy were originally from Bohola and Swinford and Joe and the Deacy family were regular visitors to the area.
Judge Eoin Garavan was informed that Brendan Rowland had got to know Joe Deacy through GAA when he moved to London for work. He was supposed to stay with Mr Rowland on the night he was killed but a family funeral meant Mr Deacy went to stay in the Byrne home as he was friends through football with their son.
A Garda investigation into the cards sent to the Byrnes discovered that stamps on some of the cards were bought in Mulranny Post Office by Mr Rowland’s mother.
The court heard that Mr Rowland sent a bundle of cards to his mother to post while his father also inadvertently sent them.
Brendan Rowland was arrested on December 22, 2020 and admitted to the offence and also told gardaí that his mother stopped posting them after reading one.
He pleaded guilty to harassment of the Byrnes in October 2024 and sentencing was adjourned for a probation report.
Sergeant Regina Carley stated that one of the cards sent read; “Merry Christmas I hope you get a conscience from Father Christmas, from Joe”, another read; “To the Byrne family I hope Santy brings you a conscience from Joe” while another read; “To the holy honest Byrnes, Merry Christmas, everyone knows the truth. I hope this Christmas brings you courage instead of cowardice, from Joe.”
The court was told that Mr Rowland currently works as a foreman on a construction site near London and is regarded as a hard worker and loyal.
However, Judge Garavan was informed that he has eleven previous convictions in the UK dating from 2014 to 2023 with charges ranging from drink driving to common assault and battery. He also received an eight month sentence for possession of a knife in 2016.
Judge Eoin Garavan adjourned sentencing until October
Dr Laura Byrne, counsel for Mr Rowland said her client wishes to offer his apologies to the Byrne family and when questioned by gardaí in 2020 he asked gardaí to say sorry to them if they have been affected.
She said that the tragic loss of Joe Deacy has been a source of great stress and grief for her client and he was engulfed by guilt as Joe Deacy was meant to stay with him that night.
“It is something that has sat with Mr Rowland ever since,” she said.
Dr Byrne said that Mr Rowland has completed a number of events in memory of Mr Deacy including the Sea to Summit challenge and raised money for charities while doing so. She said this was the right way to remember Mr Deacy and he regrets sending the cards and how his actions have affected the Byrne’s.
Judge Garvan described the circumstances surrounding the case as an extremely difficult matter but stated the sending of the cards to the Byrne’s as unjustified, cruel and sinister.
He congratulated the gardaí on tracing the source of some of the cards and it was clear that Mr Rowland was not the only one sending them.
He described Mr Rowland’s actions as a misguided and unwarranted way to deal with his grief and it was disappointing that he got his mother involved in the offence to cover his tracks in the UK.
Judge Garavan said he felt that Mr Rowland has shown insight into his actions and is apologetic and remorseful even if it may be difficult for the Byrne family to accept.
He said he was reluctant to pass sentence at this time and suggested that Mr Rowland think about paying for a memorial to commemorate Mr Deasy and for the Byrne’s to be part of that process.
“Let there be a symbolic shaking of hands in this. I am not terribly clear what I am saying myself but I think you have an idea on what might bring closure and an end,” he said.
Judge Garavan added if Mr Rowland does this and keeps his bib clean he will deal with the matter with a suspended sentence as he felt a custodial sentence was not justified.
He adjourned sentencing until October 17.