Cork man in jail for assaulting ex-wife continued distress to family by sending letters from prison
Michael Quirke, 55, was given a one-year jail term at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on top of the five years he is serving and a further one year will hang over him as a suspended sentence from the date of his release from prison.Cork Courts/File Pic
A Cork businessman serving five years in jail for assaulting his ex-wife - in a case where he told gardaí that he had tried to murder her - continued the deep distress to the family by sending unusual letters and cards from Cork Prison – circumventing the prison interception process for correspondence from inmates and breaching a court order.
His ex-wife said that even when he was behind bars she felt in fear in her own home.
Michael Quirke, 55, was given a one-year jail term at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on top of the five years he is serving and a further one year will hang over him as a suspended sentence from the date of his release from prison.
Judge Helen Boyle noted from the evidence of Detective Garda Dave Barry that Michael Quirke had used coded names or old family nicknames that would be known to the family but would not register with the prison service which would have been aware of the court order preventing any contact by him with his family.
His ex-wife, Mary Fitzgerald, said today, “I find it very difficult to comprehend that I am here writing another victim impact statement due to the actions of my ex-husband Michael Quirke.
"My three children and I were fully of the belief that when Michael was convicted and sentenced in February 2021 for offences he had committed against me, that justice had happened and the nightmare that we as a family were subject to was over.
"It was especially relieving to hear the judge at the time telling Michael that he is never to have contact with me and my children at any stage in the future. We felt safe and I felt this would allow (us) to rebuild our lives.
“This however was short-lived and again found myself feeling threatened and fearful in my own home at the hands of my ex-husband. We were bombarded with letters. The fact that he was making me feel this way while in prison further exacerbated this as I fear what the future may hold for us as a family in the future if he is capable of this while being in prison.
“A time when I hoped and thought I would have been safe but even though he was behind bars he was still contacting us. The contents of the letters left me frightened.
“From here on, we as a family would like no further contact from my ex-husband in any way, we just want to be left alone and get on with our lives.
"I will never be able to thank Detective Sergeant James O’Shea and Detective Garda Dave Barry enough for their continued time and support to myself and my children.”
Judge Boyle accepted that the letters and cards did not contain threats but said they caused the family a lot of distress and alarm.
Defence senior counsel Jane Hyland apologised to the family on Michael Quirke’s behalf. She said he was completely wrong to breach the court order but wrongly interpreted items sent by others – not his family – and decided to correspond.
She also referred to his mental health issues, being diagnosed with “bipolar disorder and emotionally unstable personality disorder” and that while alone in a prison cell he felt isolated and took solace in corresponding with his family.
He was jailed for five years on February 9 2021 for counts including assault causing harm to his wife, threatening to kill her, harassing her and intimidating her as a witness against him.
While in prison – where he is still serving the five years – he sent correspondence between April 2021 and January 2022, consisting of 19 separate pieces of correspondence.
They varied from Christmas cards to eight-page letters to montages of words cut out of magazines.
“There were no threats but they were unwanted, alarming, distressing, concerning and caused her upset,” Det. Garda Barry said.
The background to the case was that in January 2019 he walked into Fermoy Garda Station and said he attempted to murder his wife.
Det. Garda Barry said, “He said (it happened) on two occasions. In the bedroom at their home he put a trouser belt around her neck and lifted her off the chair for three seconds. He said it was his intention to kill her on this date. At the end of January 2019 he held her against the wall. He said, ‘I did threaten her that I had a rope in the shed and I would hang her. If my hands came out (they were in his pockets) I would have killed her.’”
Mr Quirke was formerly of Manor Hills, Rathcormac, County Cork.
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