Elizabeth McCarthy threatened with jail over public nuisance

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Elizabeth McCarthy was threatened with immediate jail for failing to obey High Court orders made in July to move away from a site at Cabragh Bridge, Cabragh, Thurles. The proceedings were reported on 26 September 2019.

When Tipperary County Council secured the orders, it said her caravan on an unofficial halting site constituted a public nuisance. On 25 September, council counsel David Humphries told the court she had moved only 50 metres and was parked on a bend, creating a danger to her family and other road users.

Humphries also said an electric cable running across the road to her caravan was a fire and electrocution risk. McCarthy said she would put the problems right and move immediately if she had somewhere else to go. She said her family had been offered a house in what she described as a drug-ridden estate and a place near a family involved in a 40-year feud with her husband’s relatives.

Judge Richard Humphreys advised McCarthy to obtain legal advice urgently because her liberty was in jeopardy. He listed the case for mention again the following Thursday, giving her a week to find a lawyer.