Irishman who dragged dead uncle into post office to claim his pension carries his COFFIN at his funeral while sporting a black eye after he was attacked days before by furious locals
- Declan Haughney acted as pallbearer at uncle Peader Doyle’s funeral on Monday
- Comes three days after he walked into a post office carrying pensioner’s body
- Haughney had a black eye, saying local ‘scumbags’ beat him up over the incident
- He insists he did not know Peadar was dead as he tried to withdraw his pension
An Irishman who brought his dead uncle’s body to a post office in an attempt to claim his pension has been pictured carrying his coffin at his funeral.
Declan Haughney, 40, was one of the pallbearers at the Church of the Holy Family in Carlow, Ireland, on Monday as 66-year-old Peader Doyle was laid to rest.
The funeral was held three days after Haughney and friend Gareth Coakley fled from a post office in the same town after turning up with Peader’s body carried between them – claiming they did not realise he had died.
Haughney sported a black eye during the funeral service, revealing he has beaten up by locals accusing him of being a ‘murderer’.
Declan Haughney, 40, was a pallbearer at uncle Peader Doyle’s funeral on Monday, three days after carrying his lifeless body into a post office in an attempt to claim his pension
Haughney claims he did not know Mr Doyle had died when he arrived in a post office in Carlow carrying his body with a friend, but police believe he may have been dead for three hours
Weekend at Bernie’s actor jokingly compares post office stunt to the film
The star of film Weekend at Bernie’s has jokingly compared the post office stunt to the 1989 black comedy.
Andrew McCarthy – who played insurer Larry Wilson in the movie – tweeted Saturday that he is ‘not responsible’ as the incident made headlines around the world.
‘Just because I’m in Ireland doesn’t mean I had anything to do with this,’ he tweeted, along with the hash-tag ‘weekendatbernies’.
The film follows the escapades of McCarthy’s character Wilson and his colleague Richard Parker – played by Jonathan Silverman – who are invited to boss Bernie Lomax’s house in the Hamptons for a Labour Day party, only to find him dead when they arrive.
But when other guests fail to notice he has passed away, the pair decide to maintain the illusion that he is alive so the party can continue.
He denies the charge, and post mortem examinations have revealed no sings of foul play on Mr Doyle’s body.
Haughney, speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, said he has been interviewed by gardi who are continuing their investigations but have yet to press charges.
As far as he is concerned, he has been cleared and says he is ‘confident’ that no charges will be brought.
He is also sticking to his story that he did not know Mr Doyle was dead when he brought his body into the post office.
‘Peader was so frail and only weighed about six or seven stone so whenever he went out I would have to hold him up,’ he said.
‘Looking back at what happened, I think he died at the bridge because his legs suddenly went limp, but myself and Gareth had no idea he passed away because this has happened a number of times before.’
Haughney says he is now being targeted by locals, and has been advised by family to lay low until anger has dissipated. But he refuses, saying he has ‘nothing to hide’.
‘I’m being roared at on the streets by people shouting “murderer” at me,’ he said.
‘I’ve also been jumped by local scumbags who beat me up because of what they’ve read. My auntie has advised that I keep a low profile, but I told her I won’t because I’m not a murderer.
‘I’ll hold my head up and walk up and down Carlow all day long. People can talk all they want, but at the end of the day I’ve been clean from heroin for nearly three years and have served my time in prison.’
Haughney and his friend had arrived at the post office on Friday afternoon looking to claim Mr Doyle’s pension – but were refused because he was not with them.
A short time later, the pair are said to have come back carrying Mr Doyle’s body between them with a jumper pulled up over his face and a hat on his head.
Concerned workers are said to have asked whether Mr Doyle was OK, at which point the men are believed to have placed his body on the floor and claimed he was having a heart attack.
Police now believe Mr Doyle may have died up to three hours before the incident took place.
Haughney and Coakley are then said to have fled the scene, though Haughney denies this and says he left to contact relatives before returning.
He said he has not seen his friend since the incident, guessing that he is in hiding for fear of reprisal attacks.
‘Peader helped to raise me; we were like brothers,’ Haughney added.
‘You would want to be one bad b*****d to drag your uncle out of bed when he had already died.’
‘Hopefully when people read my side of the story and see how I have the support of my family they’ll start to see things differently.’
At his funeral on Monday, Mr Doyle was remembered as a talented decorator and dedicated family man who made time to support those closest to him.
Charmaine Dowling, Mr Doyle’s niece, told the church how he had treated all his nephews and nieces like his own children.
She said: ‘You ran to him if you wanted to cry. And soon you would be dancing around the kitchen table.’
She recalled that he would take her feed his racing pigeons and would hum songs from Perry Como and Dean Martin while he would sing lullabies like Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Clare – the singer being his favourite artist.
Ms Dowling recalled her uncle Peader working as a caretaker, a waiter and as a talented painter who would often quote Shakespeare.
She referred to Peader’s love of travel which had included road trips in the US.
On the death of his own father, he had minded his mother Annie ‘with unrivalled affection’.
He was a quiet man, dignified in public but ‘in private he was a hero’, who would not seek recognition for caring for his family, which was most important to him.
Ms Dowling stated: ‘His greatness was not known to many people but (was) to his family and closest friends.’
She concluded her tribute by saying that Peader’s family will carry his memory with them with pride.
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