A former Clare club hurling coach who used a special “signal” to summon a local boy so he could sexually abuse him has been jailed for four and a half years.
James “Tony” Maher (74), a founding member of the Banner GAA club in Ennis, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in January of one count of sexual assault and one count of anal rape of the boy on dates between 1999 and 2002.
Maher of Clonroadbeg, Ennis, Co Clare, previously received a two year sentence which was increased to three on appeal for 19 counts of similar sexual offending against two boys which took place in the 1980s.
Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan called it a “distressing case” and said the use of the signal and Maher’s efforts to ingratiate himself with the child were aggravating factors. In mitigation she took into account that Maher is shunned in his community and estranged from his family.
The judge imposed a seven years sentence with the final two and a half years suspended. She noted there was no evidence before her on Maher’s likelihood of re-offending.
As a result she imposed a five year post release supervision order. Mr Justice Heneghan also ordered Maher to stay away from his victim for the rest of his life.
The prosecuting Garda told Conor Devally SC, prosecuting, that Maher would call to the victim’s home and take him on excursions, as well as giving him money. The initial abuse took the form of masturbating himself and fondling the child. Later Maher anally penetrated the boy causing the child pain.
Maher worked out a “signal system” with his victim If the he was driving by and unable to stop he would hold up one finger and throw a matchbox containing money out the window. If he could stop he would hold up two fingers and pull in further up the road.
The victim made an initial complaint in 2003 but retracted it before making a formal complaint to Gardai in 2011. Maher was interviewed and made some partial admissions.
In his victim impact statement the young man said he felt relief following Maher’s conviction. “Like people believe me for once,” he said. The statement outlined that the victim was not laying all the problems he had over the years at Maher’s door but the abuse did not help.
The Garda agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that the victim said Maher never hurt him physically and was never intimidating or violent towards him.
Mr Bowman said Maher had been instrumental in setting up the Banner GAA Club and had been involved with it for over 25 years. He said that as a result of his offending he was a “pariah” and his reputation had been sullied. Maher lives alone, never married and has no children.
He said that the contribution Maher had made to the community over the years had been tarnished and superseded by his offending. He said his client had nowhere to go other than the tight knit community where he lived and would forever be associated with “egregious wrongs” rather than any good he had done.
He said his client had a litany of medical difficulties and was on multiple medications. He had been on medication to treat symptoms of depression for 16 years.
Mr Bowman said Maher had trained as a draftsman as a young man, before working for an engineering company and finally at Clare Country Council for 29 years. He said his client acknowledged the sexual assault conviction but still had difficulty with the anal rape verdict.
