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| Francis Tiernan from Forkhill, County Donegal, jailed over £1m will fraud | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A County Armagh farmer who tried to use a forged will to inherit most of a £1m estate from an elderly woman has been sentenced to three years in prison. | |
| Francis Tiernan, 54, pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy described in court as "like a Hollywood script". | Francis Tiernan, 54, pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy described in court as "like a Hollywood script". |
| In December 2004, Catherine 'Kitty' Haughey was found dead in her flat above the Forkhill pub she owned. | In December 2004, Catherine 'Kitty' Haughey was found dead in her flat above the Forkhill pub she owned. |
| Concerns arose about her will after it emerged it had been changed two weeks before her death. | Concerns arose about her will after it emerged it had been changed two weeks before her death. |
| Tiernan, from Carrickasticken Road in Forkhill, was Ms Haughey's godson and had received £1,000 as part of the first will. | Tiernan, from Carrickasticken Road in Forkhill, was Ms Haughey's godson and had received £1,000 as part of the first will. |
| The new will gave Tiernan a house, known as Annie Murphy's Cottage, Ms Haughey's pub, Larkin's - which alone was valued at £500,000 - and substantial amounts of cash in the deceased's bank accounts. | The new will gave Tiernan a house, known as Annie Murphy's Cottage, Ms Haughey's pub, Larkin's - which alone was valued at £500,000 - and substantial amounts of cash in the deceased's bank accounts. |
| He originally denied involvement in forging the fake replacement, but changed his plea earlier this month having been extradited from the Republic of Ireland. | He originally denied involvement in forging the fake replacement, but changed his plea earlier this month having been extradited from the Republic of Ireland. |
| Tiernan had tried to argue that he was motivated by a desire to reflect the wishes of his godmother. | |
| Dying wishes | |
| However, when passing sentence, the judge said his crimes had been "founded in greed and deceit" with "a multiplicity of victims". | |
| The judge contrasted this with the actions of Kitty Haughey's closest friend, Alice Quinn. | |
| She, he said, was motivated by a commitment to seeing her friend's dying wishes realised and not by any sense of personal gain. | |
| She was the first to suspect something was wrong and she contacted the police. | |
| The judge criticised Tiernan for absconding when it looked as if justice was starting to catch up with him, saying he had "fought tooth and nail; fought all the way to the door of the supreme court in Dublin" before giving up his challenge against extradition proceedings, surrendering himself to a court in Northern Ireland and pleading guilty. | |
| Tiernan showed no reaction when the sentence was handed down, except to reach from the dock to take an overnight bag from a young woman in the public gallery. | |
| A GP and a surveyor had already pleaded guilty to drafting and witnessing the fake document and they were both given suspended sentences earlier this month. | A GP and a surveyor had already pleaded guilty to drafting and witnessing the fake document and they were both given suspended sentences earlier this month. |