Finding of misconduct against doctor involved in €1.9m will conspiracy

A Co Louth doctor who was involved in a conspiracy to forge a €1.9 million will has been found guilty of professional misconduct.

Dr James Cassidy, originally from Northern Ireland, was also found guilty at the Medical Council of failing to disclose a criminal conviction under the road traffic acts when he registered with it in 2009.

Dr Cassidy, who used to work with the Tyrone GAA team, received a suspended prison sentence in Northern Ireland last year after pleading guilty to being involved in the forging of a will of an elderly woman who left the €1.9million fortune.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy in connection with the case of Armagh publican Catherine ‘Kitty’ Haughey, whose body had to be exhumed as part of the police investigation.

At the Medical Council in Dublin, Dr Cassidy pleaded guilty to the charge of professional misconduct and the other allegations against him.

The father of four adult children spoke of the shame and remorse he felt as a result of his actions and the considerable embarrassment he had caused for his family. “It’s not terribly nice at this stage of your life to accept you did something hugely irresponsible.”

He pleaded with the council not to suspend him, saying this would be tantamount to being struck off and would result in the closure of his practice.

Asked why he had not declared a previous road traffic conviction as required when registering in 2009, he said he received legal advice that convictions in the North did not apply in the Republic and that they were “spent”.

The question on the registration form was entirely unambiguous and he “did wrong” in not declaring the conviction, he told the council’s fitness-to-practise committee.

Barrister Ken Connolly, for Dr Cassidy, said his client was “utterly remorseful” and had never been the subject of any other complaint over a long career.

Dr Cassidy said his involvement in the conspiracy arose as a result of a very specific and credible threat made by an acquaintance and patient, described as “Mr A”.

The threat was extended to his family to ensure his participation. “I was told ’If you don’t do this, we’ll sort out your children’,” he told the inquiry.

He said the threat was made “in the context of the geo-political area”. He believed Mr A was no longer at liberty.

According to media reports of the trial last year, Ms Haughey’s forged, hand-written last will attempted to redirect the childless widow’s fortune from charitable organisations and a female friend to others.

The court was told Ms Haughey was the target of a “Hollywood-scripted” conspiracy, which was discovered after her friend brought her suspicions of falsified signatures on a forged will to the Garda.

After changing his plea from not guilty to guilty, Dr Cassidy was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years.

The Medical Council will announce what sanctions to be imposed in the case at a later date.

Meanwhile, gardaí were called to the Medical Council by a press photographer after an alleged incident involving the photographer and Dr Cassidy. They took statements from witnesses to the incident, which occurred outside the council’s headquarters.

The Garda press office said it was not policy to comment on named individuals.