Charles Farrell, a 66-year-old former garda from Carrowteane, Skreen, Co Sligo, has pleaded guilty to two charges of demanding money with menaces. The charges relate to an incident where Farrell aggressively demanded a percentage of money in relation to an insurance compensation claim from two men.
The case originated from a road traffic accident in August 2017, in which Farrell was the driver and his two passengers, John Connolly and Anthony Kearns, were injured. Both passengers made legitimate personal injury compensation claims. In February 2021, Farrell contacted both men, behaving in an abusive and menacing manner, and demanded a portion of their personal injury claims.
Both Connolly and Kearns made complaints to the gardaí, leading to the seizure of three legally held firearms from Farrell’s home and the revocation of his firearms licenses. Victim impact statements revealed that both men suffered psychological effects and feared further threats from Farrell.
Farrell’s barrister, Keith O’Grady BL, highlighted Farrell’s long history of mental illness and alcoholism, stating that “alcohol is the beginning, middle and end of his problems”. The case continues to unfold in court.
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