A 75-year-old farmer and retired school teacher has branded a man who subjected him to “a horrific assault” as “a coward, a bully and a disgrace to his family”.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Noel Meere stated that himself and his Mary “are finally free of Ciaran Cullinan” who he said “is a violent criminal who only attacks those who are elderly and vulnerable”.
Judge Francis Comerford imposed a prison term of four years and eight months on 34-year-old Cullinan last July for the “horrific assault” on the pensioner that occurred in September 2022.
Judge Comerford said that the assault was a “cowardly attack by a stronger younger man against an older man”.
Now, Judge Comerford has imposed an additional one year prison sentence to run consecutive to the four years and eight month term on Cullinan for producing a claw hammer and criminal trespass at the Meere property at Curraderra, Barefield outside Ennis on February 4, 2022.
Assault on farmer
Cullinan was living in the Barefield area of Co. Clare at the time as part of bail conditions relating to a separate matter before the courts.
Judge Comerford described the February 4 incident as “bizarre and strange”.
The court heard that as a result of a cannabis-induced psychosis, Cullinan was targeting Noel Meere as he was under the delusional belief that the respected and innocent farmer was the leader of an organised crime group (OCG).
In his victim impact statement, Noel Meere told the court that he was always fearful that Cullinan would assault him after he moved into the area.
He said: “On September 5, 2022, Ciaran Cullinan carried out a horrific assault on me while sitting in a jeep at the hay shed.
“He punched me repeatedly around the head and stabbed me in my neck. Fortunately, I survived that assault.”
The farmer told the court that himself and his wife, Mary “are dreading the day that Ciaran Cullinan will be released from prison”.
“We have lived our lives since his incarceration in peace, free to go about our farming activities, free from his threats and free to walk our land. We never want to see him again in our community in Curraderra, Barefield,” he added.
Additional charge
In relation to Cullinan producing the claw hammer at his property on February 4, 2022, Noel Meere said that “only for the defence of me by [my] son Fergal, I could have been seriously hurt or killed”.
As part of the initial sentence imposed on Cullinan last July, Judge Comerford has ordered that after his release from prison, Cullinan is not to go within 15km of Barefield until 2031.
The Meeres have lived at Curraderra, Barefield since 1972 where they farm 150ac.
In evidence Sgt. Brian Spain said during the February 4 incident, that Cullinan raised the hammer over his head and the Meeres returned indoors and locked themselves inside.
Sgt. Spain said that in interview, Cullinan described the Meere house as “the gangland headquarters in Curraderra”.
Counsel for the state, barrister, Lorcan Connolly (instructed by state solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) said at trial that Garda Ger Cunningham gave evidence that none of the Meere family are known to the gardaí to be involved in any criminal activity whatsoever.
Judge Comerford said that Cullinan’s beliefs about the Meere family’s organised crime links “are ludicrous, have no basis in fact and are completely nonsensical”.
The judge said that the February 2022 incident was a harbinger of the far more serious offence in September 2022 but was in itself an offence of consequence.
Judge Comerford noted that Cullinan had no record of prior convictions before 2021.