Men travelled from Limerick to Mayo to ‘walk greyhounds’
Castlebar District Court heard that the men had travelled from Limerick to Kilmaine, a distance of 140km.
A Limerick man was charged with trespass after he was discovered on farmland in Mayo.
Myles Casey, aged 30, of Clonlong, Southhill, Limerick failed to appear before Castlebar District Court to face charges of trespass and motoring offences.
Solicitor Tom Walsh said his client told him he would not be in court as he had been "pulled by the Guards" for alleged drink-driving.
Sgt Mark Crehan told the court that at 10.30am on November 22, 2021, he received a call about a number of men with dogs on agricultural land in the Thomastown area of Kilmaine. He travelled to the scene and saw two vehicles parked on a rural road.
Sgt Crehan patrolled the area and spoke to farmer Michael Loftus who was very concerned about the safety of his livestock. He said he had not given anyone permission to be on his land.
At 10.50am, three men were seen running from the land, each with a greyhound under their care. They jumped into the cars which took off at speed. The vehicles separated after 100 yards with officers pursuing a Toyota Avensis which came to a stop after a kilometre.
Casey was the driver of the Avensis. When asked to account for his driving he told Sgt Crehan: “I always drive like that. What’s the problem?”
When asked why he was on private land with greyhounds, Casey claimed he had been given permission by a man from Tuam named Tom Sweeney. However, he was unable to further identify Tom Sweeney and gave several different versions of how he met and spoke to Mr Sweeney.
Sgt Crehan said the incident occurred during Covid-19 and there was a healthcare worker badge on the vehicle but no healthcare worker in the car. A bench warrant was in existence for Casey and he was arrested at the scene.
Solicitor Tom Walsh said while Casey’s presence on the lands was unlawful, he was engaging in a "pastime of people who live the type of life that Mr Casey lives".
Sgt Crehan said he could not speculate on why Casey was on the land but said farmers in the Kilmaine area are extremely concerned about trespassing and noted there have been a number of incidents where livestock and land has been damaged by unlawful trespass with dogs. Casey has 21 previous convictions.
Judge Marie Keane said she knew of instances where greyhounds were used as a "decoy" for criminals entering land to "intimidate and also for the purposes of seeing what is available on farms".
“I am familiar with the location of the Clonlong halting site and it is certainly some distance from Thomastown, Kilmaine, Co Mayo for anybody to be travelling with three greyhounds. I am quite satisfied that the landowner Mr Loftus was well entitled to contact the Gardai and be concerned about the presence of Mr Casey and others on his lands.”
She said Casey had shown contempt for the court by failing to appear. She imposed a fine of €300 for the trespass offence, as well as fines totalling €600 for the motoring offences.
