Man appears in court charged with threatening to kill neighbour

Galway man faces three charges relating to alleged threats and harassment charge

A 48-year-old Galway man has appeared in court charged with threatening to kill his neighbour.

David Corbett (48), of St Clerans, Craughwell, Co Galway, faces three charges at the Circuit Criminal Court in Castlebar relating to alleged threats to three people on dates between January 2012 and February 2014, which led them to believe he intended to kill or cause serious harm to Ian Quinn.

Mr Corbett is facing a further charge of harassing Mr Quinn on dates between March 10th, 2012 and July 31st, 2015. The court heard that the accused is pleading not guilty to the charges.

Mr Quinn (65), who was in court on Monday, is the founder of Galway-based medical devices company, Creganna. He bought St Clerans, formerly the home of film director John Huston, and subsequently US chat show host Merv Griffin, in 2012.

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Jury sworn in

Judge Martina Baxter told the court that the cases would run for up to four weeks and that 29 witnesses would be heard from over its course. A jury of four women and eight men has been sworn in.

The charges all relate to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. The first charge relates to an alleged threat made by Mr Corbett against Mr Quinn to Kevin Callanan in Craughwell, Co Galway, between January 1st and February 28th, 2014.

The second charge relates to an alleged threat made by Mr Corbett against Mr Quinn to Gerard Daniels in Craughwell between January 1st and December 31st, 2012.

A third charge relates to an alleged threat by Mr Corbett against Mr Quinn to Jody Daniels between January 1st and January 31st, 2013, at a location in Co Galway.

Lorna Siggins

Lorna Siggins

Lorna Siggins is the former western and marine correspondent of The Irish Times