Roscommon – Farmhouse repossession attack sentencing

By Eimear Dodd

One of three men convicted of multiple offences carried out during an attack on security guards at a repossessed farmhouse in Roscommon five years ago has described the case as a “farce” in a “kangaroo court”.

Mayo farmer Martin O’Toole (58) of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris, PJ Sweeney (44) and Paul Beirne (56) were found guilty earlier this month 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.

O’Toole, Sweeney, a builder of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal; and cattle farmer Beirne of Croghan, Boyle, 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 to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.

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

Garda Sergeant Enda Daly told Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, that the property at Falsk was repossessed on December 11, 2018 on foot of a High Court order obtained by KBC Bank, which held a mortgage on the property.

During the trial, the court heard that a group of approximately 30 armed men smashed their way into the house at Falsk just after 5am on December 16, 2018.

It was the State’s case was that the accused men and others who were present had gone there to take back the house for the previous owner Anthony McGann following the court-ordered repossession.

Evidence was heard that these men were armed with weapons, including a baseball bat, a meat cleaver, a hurley, a stick with nails in it, and a chain saw and that they attacked the security men who were guarding the property.

Ian Gordon, Mark Rissen, John Graham, and Gary McCourtney were each assaulted and sustained various injuries during the attack, which lasted around 14 minutes. 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.

Witnesses also saw three vans and other vehicles at the property which had been set alight during the incident.

Victim impact statements from five security men were handed into the court today/yesterday (FRI), but not read aloud.

Sweeney and O’Toole were identified from bodycam footage, but both denied they could be seen. Sweeney’s home was searched in January 2019 and items including chain saws, a pick axe, and hi vis jackets were found.

Google map with directions to Elfin, Co. Roscommon were found on Sweeney’s phone, along with photos taken by someone else of the property in Falsk when it was analysed.

When interviewed by gardai, O’Toole initially denied going to Falsk, but later accepted he had been there and things had gotten out of control.

Beirne’s home was searched by gardai in December 2018 and a set of keys for a Volvo cattle lorry were found.

The lorry’s tachograph was analysed and this showed the route taken by the vehicle through Elfin to the property at Falsk, where it remained stationary for 14 minutes from approximately 5.07am.

Beirne was also a member of several Whatsapp groups dealing with repossessions and made several calls in the early hours of December 16, including some to Mr McGann.

When interviewed, Beirne initially told gardai he was at home on the night, but later admitted organising a group to go to Falsk with the aim of taking back the house peacefully and events got out of control.

He also accepted he had made a number of phone calls in the early hours, but said not all were in relation to Falsk.

Beirne admitted he drove the front door in with a sledgehammer.

Sweeney has a number of minor convictions, dating back to 2010. O’Toole has several convictions including for criminal damage and road traffic offences while Beirne has a historic conviction for assault causing harm dating from 1999. He has had no convictions since 2001.

Sgt Daly agreed with Patrick McGrath SC, defending Sweeney, that his client’s previous convictions were minor and he has been of good character.

He also confirmed that Sweeney complied with all bail conditions and answered questions when interviewed.

Mr McGrath told the court that his client maintains he was not at the scene.

He said he is “effectively a man of good character” who has worked hard to provide for his family and look after his late brother’s family.

Mr McGrath said Sweeney’s partner underwent medical treatment during the trial and  he has five children, one of whom is still in school.

Sgt Daly also agreed with Andrew Sexton SC, defending Beirne, that his client was a hard-working man, and that the cattle lorry remains in the possession of gardai.

He accepted that Beirne did not send any Whatsapp messages and took responsibility for his role during interview.

Mr Sexton said his client was a man of “previous good character” for many decades. A letter from a GP in relation to Beirne’s wife was also given to the court.

He said there was “no great subterfuge” in relation to the lorry and no evidence that Beirne assaulted or falsely imprisoned anyone.

He said his client accepts a degree of involvement, but declined to say that Beirne accepts the jury’s verdict.

Defence counsel told the court that their clients did not personally benefit from the incident and also handed in medical reports and a number of testimonials.

O’Toole, representing himself, said he wished to put on record that “perjury” had been committed by gardai. He went on to describe the case as a “farce” and “fraud of the highest order” and told the court that “you are covering up that fraud”.

When asked if he wished to make a plea of mitigation, he told Judge Martina Baxter that it was a “kangaroo court” and “you can do what you like, traitor”.

Judge Baxter adjourned the case to July 28 for finalisation.

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 which was allegedly set alight.

At the start of the hearing, O’Toole told Judge Baxter that his name is “Martin Thomas” and he was a “living man” who had been illegally incarcerated.

“If you create a national security incident by doing this, that is also in your remit,” O’Toole told the court.

Tony McGillicuddy SC, prosecuting, told Judge Baxter that it had been requested that the victim impact statements were not read aloud and these five individuals were “entitled to some form of privacy”.

He said he was making an “unusual” request for the victim impact statements to be withheld from O’Toole unless he agreed not share these documents or hand them back at the end of the hearing.

Mr McGillicuddy said people representing themselves are entitled to receive materials, but there is a concern these documents could be “misused”.

O’Toole told the court to “do what you like” as they “can’t deal with a living man”.

He told Judge Baxter that “you cannot do anything to me. If you do, you are in contempt of the sovereign and your own court.”

Addressing Mr McGillicuddy, he said if counsel continued “getting into my private life, I’ll leave him on the side of the road.”.

O’Toole denied this was a threat when asked by Judge Baxter, saying, “it’s the law”.

The court agreed that the victim impact statements would not be disclosed to O’Toole, but would form part of the court file.

The court heard that Mr Gordon gave evidence during the trial that he was in a van on the night in question with his two dogs when he saw lights before a tele-handler pushed in the locked gates of the property.

Mr Gordon said he got out of the van with one of his dogs, Quinn, and saw 30 to 40 men get off a lorry.

He gave evidence that the men appeared to be carrying weapons and some were wearing yellow hi vis vests and had their faces covered.

A man hit the dog on the head with a baseball bat, then continued to strike the dog while it lay on the ground.

Mr Gordon went to protect his dog, but was himself struck on the head.

The animal later had to be put down.

He said a shotgun was put to his head and he was told to get down.

While on the ground, two others jumped on his legs and back.

Mr Gordon was ordered to crawl to the front of the property and to eat dog faeces.

A medical report outlined that Mr Gordon suffered a fracture of his left wrist, a minor head injury, minor smoke inhalation, scalp wounds, and bruising to his body.

The court heard that another security guard, Mark Rissen, saw people entering the house through the front and back doors and went to the kitchen.

Sgt Daly said Mr Rissen stated he was “extremely frightened” when at least five men burst into the kitchen. Footage from Mr Rissen’s bodycam was played to the court during the trial

He was taken from the kitchen out of the back door where he received blows to his back, face, hands and legs.

Mr Rissen sustained a 2cm wound to his right shin that required stitches and soft tissue injuries to  his body.

A third security guard, John Graham, saw the front door, which had been barricaded, being rammed in with sticks and batons.

Mr Graham was struck in the hallway then ran towards the kitchen. He was confronted by a man with a meat cleaver at the back door, who hit him in the chest.

As Mr Graham was wearing a stabproof chest, he was not injured, but the impact caused him to stumble.

The person with the meat cleaver struck him twice on the leg outside the back door.

Mr Graham was also hit with a sharp object on the head and beaten with sticks, baseball bats and a hurl.

He was then doused in petrol from his lower thighs to his ankles.

He gave evidence during the trial that he thought he was going to die.

Mr Graham was taken to the front of the house and cable-tied.

He later collapsed, losing consciousness.

He sustained a cut to his lip, puncture wounds to his left calf, a minor head injury and multiple soft tissues injuries.

A fourth security guard, Gary McCourtney, was hit on the stomach with a hurl then dragged to the front of the property where he was cable-tied and hit around his head and legs.

He was also kicked in the abdomen and struck on his legs by stick with nails embedded in it.

Someone also pulled a knife across the side of his neck.

Mr McCourtney suffered bruising, and wounds to his neck and leg.

A fifth security guard, Michael Kane, feared Mr Gordon was dead after seeing him collapse to the ground.

Mr Kane ran down by a cattle shed and told the trial that he was followed by people with torches.

He returned to the house when he saw the blue lights of the emergency services, describing the scene like “going into the gates of hell”.

O’Toole’s phone was also seized following a search of his home in January 2019 and found to contain Sweeney’s number along with contact details for Beirne’s wife.

A number of messages were also retrieved from O’Toole’s phone including one sent on December 16, which referenced a house in Roscommon and said: “I said good news would come”.