15 years for Roscommon farm repossession trio

Three men convicted of multiple offences during an attack by a “mob” on security guards at a repossessed farmhouse in County Roscommon five years ago have each been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Martin O'Toole (59), PJ Sweeney (58) and Paul Beirne (57) were found guilty in June of 15 charges in relation to the incident at Falsk, Strokestown on December 16, 2018, including aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage to a door of a house.

Mayo farmer O'Toole of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris; Sweeney, a builder of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal; and cattle farmer Beirne of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon, were also found guilty of false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to Ian Gordon, Mark Rissen, John Graham, and Gary McCourtney.

They were further convicted of three counts of arson in relation to three vans and of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.

Following a trial of over three months, a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court returned guilty verdicts in respect of 15 charges faced by the three men but acquitted them of robbery of a wristwatch from John Graham and one count of arson in relation to a car.

A fourth man - David Lawlor (43), of Bailis Downs, Navan, Co. Meath - was found not guilty of the same 17 charges.

Imposing sentence yesterday (Friday), Judge Martina Baxter said a “mob” armed with weapons arrived at the rural property in the early hours of the morning.

She said this was a “well-executed plan,” and the group was there to “make a point about repossession”.

Judge Baxter said the group arrived at the property to “cause havoc” and intended to “terrify the security men” to ensure they never came back. 

She said the defendants were “part of and actively participated” in these events, and the evidence demonstrated  “extensive planning and pre-mediation” on the part of those involved.

She said these were “highly organised and deliberate crimes” which included an element of “calculated cruelty” designed to create “fear and terror”.

Judge Baxter said the setting of fires created danger, and those involved in the attack showed a “disregard for the safety of the people left who were in no position to defend themselves or escape”.

She said the injured parties had “endured a harrowing ordeal” and were “clearly traumatised” by events.

Judge Baxter said this case falls into the “exceptionally serious category of offending,” and the defendants had a “high degree” of moral culpability.

She said there was a “large absence of mitigation” in this case due to the lack of contrition and the “absence of humanity”. She said she took into account that the men had never been in custody for serious offending before and their family circumstances.

Judge Baxter noted that the maximum sentence for false imprisonment is life imprisonment, and the aggravating features in this case include that the injured parties faced humiliation and violation of their bodily integrity.

She said the evidence showed Mr Gordon was “singled out for particular attention” and was beaten and humiliated in a “truly callous” manner. She imposed a sentence of 15 years on each of the three accused for the false imprisonment of Mr Gordon.

She handed them a 14-year sentence for the false imprisonment of the other three security guards, 13 years for the aggravated burglary,  ten years in respect of the violent disorder and arson charges, eight years for the criminal damage count and five years in relation to the charges of assault causing harm and animal cruelty. All sentences are to run concurrently and are to be backdated when they went into custody.

Judge Baxter said there was no proof before the court of rehabilitation and declined to suspend any element of the sentences.   

Around 60 supporters and family members of the three defendants were present in court during the hearing.

There was heckling and shouting in court as the sentences were handed down. One person shouted, “What a joke,” and another said, “You should be ashamed of yourself, judge”.

The court previously heard that a group of around 30 armed men smashed their way into a house at a recently repossessed rural property at Falsk, just outside Strokestown, Co Roscommon at around 5 am on December 16, 2018.

These men were armed with weapons, including a baseball bat, a meat cleaver, a hurley, a stick with nails in it, and a chainsaw, and they attacked the security men who were guarding the property.

Mr Gordon, Mr Rissen, Mr Graham, and Mr McCourtney were each assaulted and sustained various injuries during the attack. A dog belonging to Mr Gordon was also struck on the head and later had to be put down due to the seriousness of its injuries.

During the trial, the prosecution said the men who went to Falsk all shared the common goal of getting the security men off the property and making sure they didn't come back and that to achieve this, the group engaged in violence designed to terrorise the men working there.

It was the State's case that the three accused men and others had gone there to take back the house for the previous owner following a court-ordered eviction five days earlier.

The case was prosecuted on the legal principle of common design, which holds that if two or more people embark on a plan together to commit crimes, each person is criminally liable for anything done by the others.

 Before imposing sentence, Judge Baxter asked O'Toole, who was representing himself, if he wished to address the court.

O'Toole said: “I've been denied the right to a free and fair trial because my legal team refused to take my instructions; that's all I have to say”.

During the hearing, Judge Baxter noted there was a focus by the defence during the trial on the repossession of the property five days before this incident.

She noted it is for the prosecution to prove their case but added that the defence did not challenge the evidence about what happened on December 16.

She said the events at the repossession were no “defence in law,” adding there was a “misguided belief” that “the manner of the repossession proved justification for a campaign of terror” that night.

She said there was “no excuse or defence for such lawlessness.”

Judge Baxter said it is a highly aggravating feature that Mr Gordon was forced at gunpoint to eat dog faeces during the attack. She described this as “gratuitous degradation and humiliation”.

She said the security men gave evidence that they were each attacked by a group, and it was “clear they were overpowered at every turn”.

She said the dog was “severely and deliberately beaten,” causing extensive injuries, which meant the “beloved” animal had to be put down.

Judge Baxter noted that bales of hay were placed across the road by a telehandler when the group of 30 men left the scene. She said this delayed first responders and also demonstrated the level of planning involved.

She said Beirne was “in the thick” of events from “start to finish” and that the court did not accept his account that events got out of control. She noted he admitted to organising a group of men and used a sledgehammer to break the front door.

She said the accused were “part of a large group who carried out these horrific offences over a short period of time in a rural location”.

Judge Baxter noted that the three defendants are all working and family men with no relevant previous convictions.

She said governor reports for Beirne and Sweeney indicate that they are doing well in custody; however, no report was provided to the court for O'Toole.

She said the court had tried to get information about O'Toole's background, but he did not engage with the process. She noted that he is a father of seven.

Judge Baxter said O'Toole dispensed with his legal representation after the prosecution case had closed and behaved in a “confusing manner” in the absence of the jury.  She said this had caused delays, but it was not an aggravating feature.

She added that O'Toole's “deliberate conduct” during the sentencing process was “disappointing”, noting that he had verbally abused the court, gardai and counsel.

She said this was a “nuisance” and added that “courtrooms must not be allowed to become forums of abuse”.

Judge Baxter noted that these features meant that there was an absence of mitigation for O'Toole.

She said the court is not unsympathetic to the fact that the spouses of Beirne and Sweeney are both facing difficult health issues and the impact of their absence on their families.

Defence submissions made on behalf of Beirne and Sweeney said there was no personal gain. However, the judge said the injured parties were not in a position to defend themselves from attack. 

She noted that Beirne and Sweeney do not accept the verdict of the jury, and she inferred O'Toole held the same view.

She set a headline sentence of 16 years in relation to the false imprisonment of Mr Gordon and 15 years for the other three injured parties.

She set a headline sentence of 14 years for the aggravated burglary counts and 11 years for the arson and violent disorder charges.

Judge Baxter imposed the maximum sentence of five years on each man in relation to the assault causing harm charges.

Anne Rowlands SC, prosecuting, told the court that a number of documents released to the defence as part of the disclosure process had emerged in the High Court last week as part of a separate matter involving third parties.

She said there is no indication that the defendants have disseminated this material but asked Judge Baxter to remind the parties that these documents should not be shared further.

Judge Baxter said she had no control over third parties, adding that documents were disclosed for the purpose of the trial only.

Separately, Beirne pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a firearm on December 19, 2018, at Croghan, Boyle. The court heard that gardai found the single-barrel shotgun at Beirne's property during a search connected to the investigation of the incident at Falsk.

Beirne said he borrowed the shotgun from his cousin, who was the registered owner, to shoot crows on his land and gardai confirmed this.

Judge Baxter said she would take this into consideration alongside the other sentences handed to Beirne.