A neighbour from hell who terrorised an entire housing state with loud music has been jailed.
Carl Ryan, 54, launched a one-punch attack on neighbour Peter Deeney, after complaining of the loud music on a housing estate in Co Donegal.
He was found guilty at Letterkenny Circuit Court of assaulting Mr Deeney following a two-day trial, reported Irish Mirror.
Ryan has been been jailed for five-and-a-half years after admitted demanding money from the landlord of the house he was renting.
The 54-year-old told the landlord he wanted €1,000 (£850) to move out or he would burn down both his house and the landlord’s house.
Ryan, a reformed heroin addict from Dublin, showed little emotion as he was jailed for five and half years by Judge John Aylmer.
He was jailed for three and a half years for the assault on Mr Deeney and a further two years for demanding the money.
Both sentences are to run consecutively as the second offence was committed while Ryan was out on bail on the assault charge.
The court was played a twelve minute audio message of a telephone conversation between Ryan and the landlord of his house, William Baldrick.
Ryan is heard accusing Mr Baldrick of “blackening” his name with Donegal County Council and leaving him unable to find another house.
He then says he will leave the house if he gets €1,000 but if he does not that he will burn the house down and also burn Mr Baldrick’s own home down.
“You’re going to have no house. I’m going to burn it down. I’m going to burn this house and your house. I hope you have that on tape. I’m f***ing genuine,” he said.
He then says how he will fight Mr Baldrick through the courts and how it will cost him €30,000 in legal fees.
Ryan was already facing a sentence after a jury found him guilty by a unanimous verdict of assaulting pensioner Peter Deeney.
The accused claimed he was acting in self-defence after he was approached by Mr Deeney at his home at Burwood, Buncrana on September 22nd, 2019.
Mr Deeney, who had lived with his family on the estate for around 20 years, told how he had been out for some drinks in the local pub and had been collected just after 7pm by his wife Frances.
While having his dinner he noticed a lot of noise coming from Ryan’s house.
He went over to the house, which the accused shared with his partner Jacqueline Carroll, knocked on the door and then looked in the window.
Mr Deeney then claimed Ryan came out of the house and attacked him, knocking him in and out of consciousness.
The victim was taken to hospital where he was treated for multiple facial injuries.
Under cross-examination from Ryan’s barrister, Mr Peter Nolan, Mr Deeney denied that he had started the row.
Mr Nolan said any claims that his client was a “neighbour from hell” was simply a character assassination from a television programme.
He asked whether Deeney had said to his wife that he was going over to Ryan’s house to “sort him out.”
Mr Nolan also asked Mr Deeney was it not the case that he was full of “Dutch courage” after taking several drinks.
Mr Nolan added “I put it to you that you said to him ‘What are you doing here you Dublin scum bastards. I’ll burn you out and shoot you?”
Mr Deeney denied this but did admit there had been issues with Ryan before including an incident when a Dublin flag outside his house had been broken.
