A widow who was all but accused of murdering her wealthy, much older husband to get his hands on his money has been left ‘broken’ at the portrayal of her as a cold-hearted gold digger.
When Lisa Flaherty, a 50-year-old mother-of-three, married dying landowner Joseph Grogan, 75, in secret, he was in the final stages of his long fight against blood cancer.
Both Ms Flaherty and Mr Grogan, who had no children of his own, knew he didn’t have long left to live, and his motivation was to secure the financial future of the woman who had cared for him – and guarantee her right to inherit his €5.5million estate.
As it turned out his death came just 24 hours later and his body was embalmed within hours, making it virtually impossible to determine a definite cause of death.
Mr Grogan’s passing sparked a bitter war of words between Ms Flaherty and his family, who are fighting her for his 230-acre farm in the rural village of Screggan, a sleepy, forgotten backwater in Co Offaly, central Ireland.
They paint a picture of Ms Flaherty as a calculating black widow who, sensing an opportunity to get her hands on his estate, moved in with him in January 2023 to become his carer when he was first diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He died three months later on April 15 of that year.
But their story is a lot more complicated than that – with her friends keen to point out that it goes all the way back to 1991 when Ms Flaherty was 16 and had just finished school and he was a 41-year-old farmer, some 25 years her senior.
They were together for some years before they split when Ms Flaherty reached her early 20s. She went on to marry a local man, with whom she had three children; two girls called Danielle and Emma and a son, Darcy. All are now in their mid 20s.
Lisa Flaherty (above) married dying landowner Joseph Grogan in secret when he was in the final stages of his long fight against blood cancer
Mr Grogan (above) knew he didn’t have long left to live, and his motivation was to secure the financial future of the woman who had cared for him – and guarantee her right to inherit his €5.5million estate
Mr Grogan’s passing sparked a bitter war of words between Ms Flaherty and his family, who are fighting her for his 230-acre farm (above) in Ireland
But all the while, say friends, Joseph was an ever-present in her life, in the background and the pair remained close. He was seen very much as a father figure to her son and two daughters growing up, they say.
It’s why those close to Ms Flaherty told MailOnline that she has been left ‘broken’ at the suggestion that she ‘engineered’ his death for financial gain.
During an inquest into his death last week, she broke down on several occasions and had to leave the court as lawyers for the Grogan family called into question her credibility – and accusing her of leaving him to die at home by not calling in medics or taking him to hospital.
Those close to Ms Flaherty say the uncaring portrayal of her couldn’t be further from the truth.
Those who know the couple in Screggan, which is made up of a shop, a pub, an off-licence, a hair salon and around 100 homes, say behind the salacious headlines lies an unorthodox tale of enduring love and commitment between the two.
Joe Keys, who was one of Mr Grogan’s best friends said: ‘The world can think what it wants but how Lisa has been portrayed is not right. They were both wonderful people who were very well respected in this community. Lisa didn’t care for Joe because she wanted his money, that’s total rubbish.’
The late farmer’s cousin, Sean Grogan, at Tullamore Court
Joe’s farmhouse (above) sits at the heart of the farm in the rural village of Screggan, a sleepy, forgotten backwater in Co Offaly
A close friend of Ms Flaherty fumed: ‘I’ve known both all my life and I can promise you, they were very much in love. They were committed to each other, nobody cared for Joe like Lisa did, not even his own family. The two of them were inseparable.
‘She’s the one who was beside him throughout his life and when he needed her most, as he was dying. She did an amazing job, and it wasn’t for financial reasons, Lisa is not that sort of person. She’s one of the most loving and kind people you could ever meet.’
While giving evidence at the inquest, Ms Flaherty indicated that her relationship with Mr Grogan started when she was a teenager.
This led to an angry response from Damien Tansey, barrister for three of his first cousins, who claimed that it had caused anxiety to his family as it ‘puts Joseph Grogan into the realm of being a paedophile.’
But Ms Flaherty’s friend explained: ‘It does sound a bit strange, but this is rural Ireland, strange things happen. Lisa was very young when she first met Joe, but it wasn’t a big deal, she was above the legal age of consent and there was nothing paedophile about his intentions. It was the start of a loving, caring relationship that continued for many years.
‘Although they split up when Lisa was in her 20s, Joe remained a big part of her life. He thought of those kids as his own, had Christmas dinner with them every year and at one point, Darcy was even working for him at a quarry he ran on his farm.
During an inquest into his death last week, Ms Flaherty (above) broke down on several occasions and had to leave the court as lawyers for the Grogan family questioned her credibility
After splitting from her husband, Ms Flaherty raised her children in a modest three-bedroom terraced home (above) which is a five-minute walk from the entrance to Mr Grogan’s sprawling farm
‘Even though Lisa and Joe went their separate ways, the bond between them was always there and grew stronger. He would always refer to her as “My Lisa.” They were together even when they weren’t together if you know what I mean.’
After splitting from her husband, Ms Flaherty raised her children in a modest three-bedroom terraced home located just a five-minute walk from Mr Grogan’s detached bungalow, which lies at the entrance to his sprawling farm.
She divided her time between the two properties but as his health deteriorated, she virtually lived with Mr Grogan full time and combined caring for him with her work as a special needs assistant in a local school.
Ms Flaherty is also a leading figure in women’s Gaelic football and has even worked for the sport’s governing body to help develop the sport amongst girls.
Thomas, who has lived in Screggan for more than 50 years, said: ‘Joe was a very big-hearted man, he’d do anything for anyone. Lisa is really involved in local sports and is a pillar of our community. You won’t find anyone around here who has a bad word to say about either of them.’
But Mr Grogan’s family would beg to differ. They insisted during the inquest that he was a confirmed bachelor and that they were excluded from being involved in his life, especially towards his latter days.
They were not informed about his marriage and only discovered he had died after being told by a friend.
Ms Flaherty (above) is a leading figure in women’s Gaelic football and has even worked for the sport’s governing body to help develop the sport amongst girls
Mr Grogan was an only child who came from a large extended family and had 39 cousins. He inherited his multi-million farm from his father and also received close to £800,000 in compensation after part of it was compulsorily purchased to build a road.
A Grogan family source told MailOnline that a family meeting is to be held over the coming weeks where they will consider what further legal steps they can take.
The source said: ‘Our position is clear. The marriage is a sham and is not valid and we are considering challenging this in the High Court.
‘We also have concerns about the care Joe received or rather didn’t receive and this adds to our argument that the police need to investigate.
‘We don’t want to say too much about Ms Flaherty and what some of the local community think about her because we know what we think. Our lawyers made this clear during the inquest and nothing has changed.’
At the inquest, three of Mr Grogan’s cousins, Alo, Margaret and Seán were represented by barrister Damien Tansey. His 90-year-old aunt, Teresa Mooney was represented by solicitor Peter Jones.
All challenged the validity of the marriage while calling on the coroner to order a police investigation and return a verdict of unlawful killing.
But the coroner delivered a ‘narrative verdict’ which is an account of the circumstances surrounding a death rather than a direct ruling as to its cause. He said that it was probably due to an infection associated with Mr Grogan’s cancer, chemotherapy treatment, damage to the immune system, and significant weight loss.
Ms Flaherty appeared with her three children (above) at a media event to announce this year’s National Ploughing Championships where she was named as ‘Lisa Flaherty Grogan’
He added that there had been ‘valid criticism’ of his care in the days leading up to his death, but it had to be borne in mind that Mr Grogan did not want to go to hospital.
His friends in Screggan also told MailOnline that he had made it clear to them that he wanted to die at home and was not interested in further medical attention.
The coroner also said that he could not make any ruling on the validity of the marriage and that the evidence of Mr Grogan’s death did not come ‘anywhere near’ the threshold required for a finding of unlawful killing.
Following the inquest, Ms Flaherty has temporarily left Screggan with friends claiming that she needs time to recuperate and ‘mend.’
But since Mr Grogan’s death she has already taken over the management of his farm, which is well known for staging Ireland’s National Ploughing Championships.
She recently appeared with her three children at a media event to announce this year’s competition which will be staged from September 16-18 where she was named as ‘Lisa Flaherty Grogan.’
As her close friend Margaret maintained: ‘She has every right to take Joe’s name and his farm. She’s the one who did all the hard work and he wanted to make sure she was financially cared for after he died. There’s nothing more to this case than that.’
