Noel Hayes given six-year sentence for forging farmer’s will

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

Noel Hayes received six years in prison, with three years suspended, and a €500,000 fine for forging a farmer’s will. Judge Raymond Fullam sentenced him and William O'Leary at Wexford Circuit Court. The proceedings were reported on 25 February 2013.

William O'Leary received three years in prison, with 18 months suspended, and a €200,000 fine. Both men had denied forging the will of bachelor farmer Matthew Hayes. A jury found them guilty unanimously in the month before the report.

Matthew Hayes died in hospital on Christmas Day 1998, aged 82. The forged document purported to leave his estate and money in various accounts to his distant relation, Noel Hayes.

Both men were remanded on bail pending an appeal after the court heard that a document found in the jury room raised an issue about the safety of the conviction. A garda found the document, which came from the State solicitor’s office, after the trial had finished.

Judge Raymond Fullam described Noel Hayes as the ringleader and the forgery as a serious fraud. The court heard that both men were asset rich. They were ordered to pay their fines by September 2013. The judge also ordered registration of the farm to the county registrar; the report said ownership might come before the courts again.

The trial also heard that Charlie O'Leary pleaded guilty in 2009 to involvement in the forgery. He received a suspended sentence. Charlie O'Leary testified that all three men were involved in forging the will.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.