Two Carlow men to be sentenced today following Post Office incident

Two local men are due to be sentenced today after pleading guilty to attempting to deceive post office worker Margaret O’Toole at Hosey’s post office on Staplestown Road in Carlow over a dead man’s pension.

The incident happened on the 21st of January last year and Judge Eugene O’Keeffe has described the case as ‘somewhat bizarre’.

41-year-old Declan Haughney, of 119 Pollerton Road, and 37-year-old Gareth Coakley of 44 John Sweeney Park had initially denied the charges but changed their plea on Wednesday.

It’s expected that the family of the late Peadar Doyle – whose old-age pension they were trying to collect – will give a victim impact statement at Carlow Circuit Court.

The two co-accused are facing a maximum penalty of five years in jail.