Three men have been convicted of multiple offences carried out as part of a vigilante attack on men guarding a repossessed farmhouse in Roscommon five years ago.
Following a trial that ran for over three months, the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today returned its verdicts, after deliberating for a total of 13 hours and 58 minutes.
A fourth man facing charges in relation to the same incident was acquitted by the jury, which had began its deliberations last Thursday.
PJ Sweeney (44), a builder from High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal was found guilty of false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to Ian Gordon, Mark Rissen, John Graham, and Gary McCourtney at Falsk, Strokestown on December 16, 2018.
He was also found guilty of aggravated burglary and three counts of arson in relation to three vans which were allegedly set alight.
He was acquitted of one count of arson in relation to a car and the robbery of a wristwatch from John Graham.
Sweeney was further convicted of criminal damage to a door of a house, violent disorder and to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.
Mayo farmer Martin O'Toole (58) of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris was found guilty of false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to Ian Gordon, Mark Rissen, John Graham, and Gary McCourtney at Falsk, Strokestown on December 16, 2018, aggravated burglary amd criminal damage to a door of a house,
He was also convicted by the jury of violent disorder, three counts of arson and of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head. by majority verdicts.
He was found not guilty of robbery of a wristwatch from John Graham and, finally, of arson in relation to a car.
Cattle farmer Paul Beirne (56) of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon was found guilty of false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to Ian Gordon, Mark Rissen, John Graham, and Gary McCourtney at Falsk, Strokestown on December 16, 2018.
He was also found guilty of aggravated burglary, three counts of arson, criminal damage, violent disorder and finally, to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.
He was acquitted of robbery of a wristwatch from John Graham and one count of arson in relation to a car which was allegedly set alight.
The jury returned unamimous guilty verdicts in respect of the charge of violent disorder faced by O'Toole, Sweeney and Beirne. Jurors found the three men guilty by a majority of 11 to one on the 14 other charges of which they were each convicted.
David Lawlor (43), a security worker with an address at Bailis Downs, Navan, Co. Meath, was found not guilty of the 17 charges he faced. He was found not guilty of false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to Ian Gordon, Mark Rissen, John Graham, and Gary McCourtney at Falsk, Strokestown on December 16, 2018, aggravated burglary and four counts of arson.
He was further acquitted of criminal damage to the door of a chouse, violent disorder, robbery of a wristwatch from John Graham and, finally, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.
The four defendants had pleaded not to all counts.
Judge Baxter ruled against defence applications made on behalf of Sweeney and Beirne for a continuation of their bail as she said the convicted men had lost the presumption of innocence. O'Toole has been in custody since last Tuesday when a bench warrant for his arrest was executed at his home.
He had failed to come to court the previous Friday on the day he was due to give a closing speech in his defence, having fired his legal team the previous week. O'Toole repeatedly told Judge Baxter he did not recognise the court, used her first name and called her “a corporate banker”.
In the absence of the jury, he said that that there were “people from outside this country on the jury” and “with all due respect to them do they understand what a sovereign man is”. Judge Baxter said she believed he was deliberately obstructing the trial process.
Judge Baxter remanded Sweeney, Beirne and O'Toole into custody to appear again before the court for a sentence hearing on June 30.
