Derry siblings fined for dogs' 4,416 barks

A brother and a sister have been fined at Derry Magistrate's Court today after the court heard a council worker recorded dogs barking 4,416 times over a period of time.

Terence and Teresa Doran (ages unknown) both of Osprey Drive in Derry appeared charged with failing to comply with a noise abatement order on February 11 2025 and March 31 2025.

The court heard that after numerous complaints from people living in the area about their four dogs barking an abatement notice was served on April 19 2023 and the charges arose after that notice was not complied with. 

The court heard that the complainants were asked to record the dog barks and one of these recordings had 882 barks.

Council sent out an officer who recorded more than 4,000 barks.

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The court heard the situation improved for a period after the abatement notice was served but had since returned to the previous levels.

Defence counsel Sinead Rogan said that the defendants accepted that the noise were an issue and they had taken steps to alleviate the problem but this had been 'up and down.'

District Judge Oonagh Mullan said that something had to be done about the problem but added she had 'sympathy' for both sides in the case.

Both defendants were fined a total of £200 each and ordered to pay court and legal costs.