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You are > Home > Cross farmer gets six years in ‘most socially divisive case’
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Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Cross farmer gets six years in ‘most socially divisive case’
By Christy Loftus
At a packed central criminal court on Friday last, sitting in No 2 room of the Four Courts building, Mayo farmer Padraig Nally was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the mansalughter of John Ward.
Nally, of Funshinnagh, Cross, Co Mayo, was cleared of the murder of John Ward and found guilty of manslaughter by a jury following a six day trial in Castlebar last July.
John Ward, a Traveller, with an address at Carrowbrowne Halting Site, Headford Road, Galway died following gunshot wounds at Funshinnagh on Oct 14, ‘04. He was a married man with eleven children.
The trial heard from Prof Marie Cassidy that Ward had been shot twice. The fatal shot, from close range, had penetrated the left lung and the heart and had been fired while Ward was in a crouched position with his assailant standing above him.
The first shot had wounded Ward in the right hand and hip area. It would have been painful but not disabling. In between the two gunshots, Ward have been severely beaten with a stick. There were ten wounds to his head most of which had opened cuts right through to the skull. He had also suffered a fracture of his left arm.
In his defence Nally claimed he had been at his wits’ end because of fears of burglary and being attacked and killed in his home. For some months he had been making a list of car registration numbers seen in the area.
He had lost interest in his farm and thought of suicide. He spend hours sitting in his shed with his gun awaiting the approach of intruders. It was his intention to fire shots over any intruders to scare them off his home and farm.
In a courtroom packed with up to fifty of Nally’s neighbours and supporters, Mr Justice Paul Carney described the case as the most “socially divisive” he had ever presided over and added that deciding the sentence was “the most difficult” of his fourteen years as a judge.
Before passing the sentence Judge Carney heard from John Ward’s widow, Marie that she married on Aug 20, 1981 and enjoyed a good relationship with her husband with who she had eleven children, the oldest 22 and the youngest 4 years.
“I’m lost without my husband. I’ll never be the same again,” she told the court. Since her husband’s death her health had been affected and she was on medication for depression.
One of her children was in psychiatric care since the “murder” while her younger children kept asking when their “daddy was coming back.”
“Things are not getting better, they are getting worse day by day,” she said.
She was told by the judge that while she had referred to her husband being ‘murdered’ he was not allowed to treat the matter as murder in view of the decision of the jury.
Character witnesses for Nally also gave evidence to the court. Mr Michael Varley, Nally’s closest neightbour, described Nally as a “great neighbour” not just to him but to the community. He would leave his own work and come and help a neighbour.
Varley noticed a change in Nally’s behaviour from about 2003 onwards. He became agitated and anxious to be close to his home. This change came about following a break-in at his home and the disappearance of articles, including a chain saw, from his farm. He was a great man for the GAA and was involved in the IFA. He had never said a (cross) word to anyone in his life and was unknown to the gardai.
Mr Paddy Rock told the court he had travelled much of the country with Nally whom he regarded as a “good friend.” He took advice from Nally with regard to cattle and sheep. He was a good judge of livestock. Up to recent years he was very sociable and would stop on the way home from fairs and marts for a cup of tea.
Mr Michael Biggins, Chairman Mayo IFA, said he knew Nally as a neighbour and friend for many years. Nally was a member of the IFA for practically all of his life. In recent times he had become apprehensive about the safety of his home and farm. Because of incidents in the area concern for safety had become quite common especially among people living alone in isolated areas.
Dr John P Bogue, Psychologist, said he had seen Nally in June “05 and again on November 7. Nally was a quite sincere and forthcoming man who did not manufacture any psychological symptoms. He had been under pressure and stress in the months leading up to the shooting. He was disturbed by accounts of thefts and break-ins and was pre-occupied about his own safety. He was “very vexed about the pilfering and was coping poorly with his distress.”
Witness had detected a number of indicators of obsessionality and anxiety and while there were no previous signs of depression there were ‘anxiety symptoms” which were heightened by the loss of sleep.
He said Nally was remorseful for what he did and was aware that he had done wrong but felt compelled to act as he did because of his distress. He had thought of ways to kill himself.
Mr Bogue said the liklihood of Nally re-offending was “low risk.” He was a religious man who knew he would have to answer to god. He was aware of the fact that there was a widow and family and was conscious of their hurt.
Judge Carney, in a reference to some ‘hate mail’ received by Mrs Ward, commented that it would appear that some of Nally’s neighbours were not so aware or conscious of any hurt to the family.
Mr Brendan Grehan, SC, for Nally said his client could not be responsible for the action of some people in the community. He was in court because of being confronted with an intruder breaking in his back door. He should not be penalised because some member of his community held a view that he should not. He pointed out that up to the incident Nally had led a “totally blameless life.” That good conduct and the character evidence to the court had to be considered in any sentence imposed.
“This was an incident in which two separate worlds collided at his back door. Nally did not go looking for trouble, it came to him at a time when he was at a low point because of previous incidents,” said Mr Grehan.
He expressed, on behalf of Nally, “his sorrow for the widow and family and the grief they have to deal with.”
Commenting that it was the most socially divisive case he had to try and the most difficult in which to decide a sentence, Mr Justice Carney said Nally was initially protecting the inviolability of his home but then had got the “upper hand.”
He had shot Ward across his abdominal area and had “put him down”, inflicting numerous significant injuries. He had then gone to his shed, got three cartridges and re-loeaded his gun. Ward had limped or walked off the farm and was on the road in manifest retreat when Nally aimed and shot at him from five yards while he was stooped over. He then put the body over the wall and went to tell his neighbour.
“These are the factual matters in respect of which I must pass sentence. All justifiable action by Nally had ceased,” he said.
He took into account the fact that Nally was previously of good character, that his conviction arose largely from his own admissions to the gardai, that the medical evidence was that he was “at low risk of re-offending” and he also took account “of the remorse that came forth today, as expressed through counsel.”
He imposed a sentence of six years.
Mr Paul O’Higgins, SC, with Mr John Jordan BL (instr by Mayo state solr, Seamus Hughes and Co) prosecuted. Mr Brendan Grehan SC, with Mr Michael Bowman BL (instr by Mr Sean Foy, solr) was for the accused.
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