Media interest forces Collins away from Ennis

SHARON COLLINS’ solicitor has told The Clare Champion that she will not live in Ennis following her temporary release from Mountjoy Women’s Prison on Monday.

 

She is on release after serving almost four years of a six-year sentence following the ‘Lying Eyes’ case, where she was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill her former partner and his two sons.

Collins cannot leave the country while on temporary release and her final release date will be December of this year. “She would obviously like to live in Ennis, where her family and friends are,” Patrick Moylan of O’Kelly Moylan Solicitors in Kilrush and Ennis said.

“They have been a great support to her throughout all of this but some weeks ago there was quite a lot of media attention, particularly around her mother’s house. Sharon didn’t want to return to Ennis and bring that sort of media attention on them again. So she has made a decision that she isn’t going to return to Ennis for the foreseeable future,” he explained.

Mr Moylan said Collins is in the process of writing a book on her experiences, although the identity of the publisher has yet to be revealed.
“There is a book in the offing and that’s something she is working on. As regards her ability to engage with the media, that is limited until her release in December,” he commented.

In relation to media interest, Mr Moylan maintained she is not responsible for this.
“I don’t accept that she should be taking responsibility for the level of media interest. There is a level of media interest and that is to be expected given the notoriety of the case and Sharon’s notoriety. But that isn’t Sharon’s fault. As regards the focus of the media around her mother’s house and on her family and friends, that is something that they don’t deserve and that isn’t something that she is pleased with. For that reason, she feels she can’t return to Ennis and continue to have that focus brought upon them,” he said.

Mr Moylan said Collins still has a close relationship with her family and friends, despite her conviction.
“This hasn’t in any way undermined her close relationship with her family and friends. They’ve been very, very supportive throughout. I think what she is coming to terms with is her freedom and settling into some sort of a normal life or as much as a normal life as she can,” he said.

Although Collins still insists she is innocent of the charges on which she was convicted, Mr Moylan said she adapted to her circumstances once convicted.
“She had to deal with the situation as it was. Once she was in prison she engaged in the system,” he said before explaining what “temporary release” involves.

“It’s a mechanism which the prison service has. All prisoners can avail of it if they have a record of good behaviour and have engaged with the system,” Mr Moylan concluded.
In late 2011, Collins lost her case against the conviction, with the court rejecting all 23 grounds of her appeal.