Ex-doctor denies he falsely claimed cancer cure

A FORMER doctor yesterday pleaded not guilty to obtaining more than €80,000 from cancer patients and their relatives by falsely pretending he could cure the patients of cancer.

At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, sitting in Kilrush, Paschal Carmody (60), of Ballycuggaran, Killaloe, Co Clare, pleaded not guilty to 25 charges of obtaining €80,172 from six cancer patients and their relatives by deception between September 2001 and October 2002.

The State alleges Mr Carmody obtained €72,282 and £6,285 by falsely pretending that the patients would be cured through photodynamic treatment at Mr Carmody's East Clinic in Killaloe.

Counsel for the State, Denis Vaughan-Buckley SC, said the patients concerned have all since died. He named them as: John James Gallagher of Kingswood, Mullingar, Co Westmeath; Conor O'Sullivan of Granite Lodge, Gorey, Co Wexford; Josephine Durkin of Beechgrove, Lucan, Co Dublin; John Sheridan of Burgess Court, Kells, Co Meath; Mary O'Connor originally from Mill Street in Cork but later of the UK; and Karen Kurvink with an address in Holland.

Mr Carmody responded "not guilty" to each of the charges, and replied "yes" to Judge Rory McCabe when asked was he ready to be tried.

He pleaded not guilty to four counts of obtaining €15,594 by falsely pretending that John James Gallagher would be cured of cancer through photodynamic treatment between January and February 2002.

Mr Carmody also pleaded not guilty to seven counts of obtaining €16,406 by falsely pretending that John Sheridan would be cured of cancer through the same treatment between September and October 2002, and to seven counts of obtaining €9,610 from Derek and Christina O'Sullivan by falsely pretending that their son, Conor, would be cured of cancer by the same treatment between July and September 2002.

Mr Carmody pleaded not guilty to three counts of obtaining €9,369 by falsely pretending that Josephine Durkin would be cured of cancer by the same treatment in March 2002; not guilty to two counts of obtaining €8,100 by falsely pretending that Mary O'Connor would be cured of cancer by the same treatment in March 2002; and not guilty to two counts of obtaining €21,093 by falsely pretending Karen Kurvink would be cured of cancer by the same treatment in October 2002.

Counsel for the State, Stephen Coughlan, said 95 witnesses could give evidence for the State.

Counsel for Mr Carmody, Pat Marrinan SC, told Judge McCabe in relation to the warning he would give jury members, there were a number of programmes broadcast on RTÉ, along with radio and newspaper reports in 2004 and 2005, in which some witnesses in the case gave interviews.

Judge McCabe told the jury if they had seen the TV programmes or heard the radio shows they could not serve on the jury.

It took 30 minutes to pick a jury of seven men and five women.