UPDATE: Man Jailed For Two Years After Taking Dead Uncle To Collect Pension

UPDATE: Friday, July 28, at 11:19 pm

The shocking case of the man in Ireland who dragged his dead uncle to the post office to claim his pension has taken another surprising twist.

After being sentenced to two years and six months, it has emerged that Declan Haughney is expected to be a free man by Friday, July 28, writes the Irish Mirror.

Last week, 41-year-old, Declan Haughney, who has 55 previous convictions, was found guilty of attempted deception and was sentenced to two years and six months suspended.

However, despite the prison sentence, Haughney, who served the past 18 months in prison on remand is expected to be released today.

It is believed that Haughney was transferred from Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise on Friday, July 21, and that he will be a free man by Friday, July 28.

Saturday, July 22, at 4:53 pm

A man in Ireland has been jailed today after it was discovered that he dragged the lifeless body of his uncle to the post office in order to collect his pension.

A court in Ireland heard how 41-year-old Declan Haughney, and Gareth Coakley, 38, both drug addicts at the time dragged the body of 66-year-old Peadar Doyle to the post office to claim his €246 pension, writes Dublin Live, Saturday, July 22.

The incident occurred on January 21, 2022, at Hosey’s Post Office on Staplestown Road in Carlow, Ireland, where Mr Doyle, the uncle of Declan Haughney, was discovered to be deceased.

Two Men Sentenced For Callous Deception

The trial was scheduled to be resumed on Wednesday next week, but both pleaded guilty to attempted deception of a €246 pension belonging to Peadar Doyle.

On Saturday, July 22, at Carlow Circuit Court, Judge Eugene O’Kelly sentenced both Haughney and Coakley to two and a half years behind bars with the final six months suspended, for their part in Mr Doyle’s body being brought into the post office.

Summing up, Judge O’Kelly said that both men had a ‘callous disregard for the dignity and welfare of a dying man,’ they ‘refused an offer’ for a call to help and ‘literally abandoned him on the floor of the post office.’

He continued: ‘They were the ones who removed him from his home. He may have died peacefully in his bed’ had they not removed him from his home.

Due to the unusual nature of the case, it has resulted in ‘extraordinary public interest,’ which has multiplied the upset and trauma suffered by My Doyle’s family.

Court Evidence

It emerged that Haughney had been to the post office shortly before the incident took place, in an attempt to claim Mr Doyle’s pension, but was refused. Reportedly Haughney was told by a member of staff that he was not a named agent and he was not entitled to collect the pension on behalf of Mr Doyle.

The court was shown disturbing CCTV footage in which Haughney and Coakley dragged a lifeless and ‘grey-coloured’ Mr Doyle approximately 400 metres from his house along the street and into the post office. Mr Doyle’s legs were clearly seen trailing on the floor as the two suspects carried him under their arms before dragging him to the front counter, where they demanded that the pension be handed over.

Haughney said: ‘He’s here now, to collect his pension.’ When Mr Doyle slid to the floor, he started shouting: ‘He’s dead! He’s dead!’ before accusing staff of causing his uncle’s death by forcing him to leave home.

An Aunt of Haughney, and sister of the deceased, Noeleen Dowling – an aunt of Mr Haughney, explained how hurt the family was, commenting that he had been ‘reduced to a macabre spectacle and his dignity was taken away from him.’