Mentally-ill man who harassed two women jailed with no free CMH beds

Eimear Dodd

A man with severe mental health difficulties who harassed two women has been jailed for six years, with the court recommending he be placed in the Central Mental Hospital as soon as possible.

Eoghan Peavoy (54) requires treatment in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH), but no bed is currently available, and he remains on a waiting list, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

The case was heard last February and adjourned to see if any progress could be made in finding an appropriate treatment place for him, but there is still none available, John Byrne SC, defending, said on Monday.

Peavoy, of Brackenwood Avenue, Balbriggan, pleaded guilty to harassing one injured party on dates between January 2018 and October 2023.

The court heard that he sent this woman hundreds of emails and letters, some of which referred to babies and marriage. Some emails were copied to the woman's colleagues or to public figures, which caused her embarrassment.

Peavoy has a diagnosis of schizophrenia and other mental health issues, the court has heard.

He was also before the court for violating the conditions of a five-year suspended sentence he received in March 2024 for the harassment of a female barrister between February 2019 and August 2022. He has been in custody since November for breaching the conditions of his suspended sentence.

These conditions included an order that Peavoy have no contact with the victim, her family or friends for the five-year period of the suspended sentence and in perpetuity afterwards.

The court was told Peavoy was released from in-patient psychiatric care in October 2025 after he was no longer deemed to be an involuntary patient.

Within three days of his release, he repeatedly contacted the female barrister. The court was told this contact included 14 emails and 21 texts.

He also sent her Whatsapp messages which were mostly gibberish, though some were sexually suggestive.

Sentencing him on Monday, Judge Martin Nolan said the court was left in an “unenviable position”.

“This is not a court of preventative detention,” the judge said, noting Peavoy was previously given a substantial chance through a suspended sentence. “This is a very difficult case.”

He noted that Peavoy's psychiatric condition means he is unable to restrain himself from this offending behaviour and he has not been able to receive treatment.

He said he had no choice but to activate the five-year suspended sentence in relation to harassing the barrister.

In relation to the more recent charge, the judge set a consecutive term of three years and suspended the final two years of that on conditions including that Peavoy remain under the supervision of the Probation Service for a period of 18 months.

The judge recommended that Peavoy be given a bed in the CMH “as soon as possible” and ordered him to stay away from his victims, their family and friends in perpetuity.

He said Peavoy should be given credit for any time already spent in custody.

At a previous sentence hearing, John Byrne SC, defending, said a report states his client requires treatment at the Central Mental Hospital (CMH), but no place is currently available.

He noted his client's behaviour is compulsive and there is a concern that Peavoy could re-offend unless his underlying psychiatric issues are addressed.

He asked the court to request a further update from his client's doctors about when a place may become available in the CMH and to ask the Irish Prison Service for details about the supports for his client while in custody.

Judge Martin Nolan said the court was concerned about Peavoy's risk of re-offending and agreed to the defence's request to adjourn finalisation for further reports to be prepared.

He noted that the female barrister was at the hearing and apologised that the case could not be finalised at that stage. The judge noted that Peavoy appeared to have fixated on this particular injured party and this must have made her life “miserable”.

He said the court considered it “highly unlikely” that Peavoy will “emerge from custody in the short term”.

Evidence was previously heard that the first injured party was working in Dublin city centre and met Peavoy once at a public meeting in 2008.

He sent her his CV to get some feedback on it. She then worked abroad between 2012 and 2018.
Peavoy obtained the woman's email address online. In 2018, he started to send her hundreds of emails, some of which were copied to her colleagues.

This caused her embarrassment as some of these emails falsely alluded to a romantic relationship and referred to babies, marriage and sexual contact.

Peavoy was also contacting this woman on social media around this time, but she was able to block him.

In 2019, she took up a new job and changed her email address. However, within days Peavoy was sending her more emails.

She contacted ISP providers based on the email addresses he was using in an attempt to stop these emails reaching her, but she received no replies.

Colleagues of the woman and public figures were copied in on these emails.

In 2022, Peavoy's behaviour escalated and he began posting letters to her business address, some of which referenced him marrying her and giving her a baby.

In December 2022, he sent another letter which didn't make sense, referring to discussions about escort services.

That Christmas, he called to her workplace and left a CV, book and a Christmas card. This escalation prompted her to make a complaint in January 2023 to gardai.

Peavoy sent a further 140 emails to her between January and October 2023. The court was told the contents of these emails were rambling and some mentioned public figures, some of whom were copied in.

He was arrested and accepted during the interview that he had been contacting the woman, and this could be seen as harassing.

The contact stopped after his arrest, the court was told. The injured party did not wish to make a victim impact statement and is eager to put this behind her, the court was told.

The investigating garda told Simon Matthews BL, defending, that Peavoy made full admissions when interviewed.

It was further accepted that the engagement was worrying, but also annoying and repetitive. The garda agreed it was clear the correspondence was from someone with mental health issues.

The garda also agreed that the woman said she was reporting it so he wouldn't do it to others and that the contact was invasive and unwanted.

It was also accepted that the woman met Peavoy and told him his behaviour was unwanted. He told gardai during interview that it was nice of her to respond to him.

Matthews said his client was released from a psychiatric facility after it was deemed not necessary for him to remain as an involuntary patient and upon his release started to contact the female barrister with days.

He said Peavoy sent him his CV within a few minutes of their first meeting and noted that his client has significant mental health difficulties.

He noted that Peavoy's contact with the injured parties was “more serious and sinister” and unwanted.