A man (61) who put up posters in his locality naming a publican as an alleged paedophile has been jailed for 30 months at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Bernard Clyne of Brighton Cottage, Foxrock, was convicted by a jury in May of harassment of his victim between April 2nd and April 21st, 2003, by putting up the posters.
Judge Katherine Delahunt noted that the offence carried a possible sentence of seven years or a fine and said she considered Clyne's premeditated actions at the upper end of the scale but she took his age and health, among other matters, into consideration in the sentence she imposed.
The jury found Clyne guilty of harassment after a four-day trial in which it heard him say that the English television series, The Bill, had given him the idea to run what he agreed was "a concerted campaign" against the publican.
Clyne had told the jury he ran the campaign as a favour to a lifelong friend who asked him to get justice for his son who had allegedly been sexually abused by the publican when he was about eight or nine years old.