Looks like the farmer finally snapped.
http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=9&iArticleID=49596
Mayo farmer jailed for killing intruder
A Co. Mayo farmer who was found guilty of manslaughter after he shot and killed a Traveller last year has been jailed for six years. In October of last year Pádraig Nally, of Cross, shot and killed John Ward (43), a father of 11 with an address at a halting site on the outskirts of Galway city. During the trial it was claimed that Mr Ward entered Mr Nally's isolated home through a back door uninvited when the farmer was in an outhouse. Mr Nally fired a shotgun at Ward when he emerged, hitting him in the hip. He then beat him with a piece of wood about 20 times. When Ward tried to flee the area Nally reloaded the gun and shot him in the back, killing him. Evidence was given that Mr Nally had been living in fear since strangers had entered his home and robbed him on a number of occasions. It was also claimed that Mr Ward, who had 12 criminal convictions, and his son had called at the house on a number of occasions, sometimes using cars with false number plates. Mr Nally took a note of the registration numbers of all strange cars approaching his house. This was just one of a number of precautions he had been taking following the series of burglaries.
Mr Ward's family were bitterly disappointed that the verdict had not been one of murder and more disappointed at what they saw as a lenient sentence. Nationally there was great sympathy for both sides and a widespread belief that Mr Nally should not have received a custodial sentence. Justice Paul Carney said he was faced with the "most difficult sentencing matter" to come before him in 14 years in the Central Criminal Court. It had been "undoubtedly the most socially divisive case" he had dealt with. In an editorial the Irish Times commended the judge on getting the sentence about right. The matter was discussed in some detail on Pat Kenny's Late Late Show. Others who were faced with intruders spoke of their experiences and how they felt at the time. Some used force but they did not have guns. At the end, on a show of hands, the vast majority of the large audience felt that Mr Nally should not be in prison; only seven believed that he should have been jailed.
Considerable attention was also given to what was seen as the light sentences imposed on two men who assaulted a librarian so severely that he was left in a coma and remained in hospital for 25 days. Former Davis Cup tennis player Stephen Nugent (24), of Swords, and Dermot Cooper (29), of Stillorgan, will serve three months in prison following their plea of guilty to attacking Barry Duggan (37), a native of Sligo, as he cycled up Grafton Street after a night out. Judge Donagh McDonagh actually imposed three-year sentences, but suspended two years and nine months on the basis that the pair had clean records and were unlikely to come to the attention of the gardaí again. The judge added that he did not wish to "destroy young men's lives".
Mr Duggan was knocked to the ground and kicked on the head repeatedly. As a result he suffered severe brain and head injuries; he sustained a fractured skull as well as a broken jaw and eye socket. For five months after he was discharged from hospital he continued to require the support of a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist.
The sentence attracted criticism from some politicians and Victim Support, who said that it was too lenient. Mr Duggan's GP, Dr Micheál Ó Tighearneaigh called for mandatory prison sentences for all those who kick people on the head. Whether the victim lives, dies or is left permanently disabled is simply a matter of luck, he said, and the way things stand the punishment for such attacks is equally a matter of luck.
http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=9&iArticleID=49596
Mayo farmer jailed for killing intruder
A Co. Mayo farmer who was found guilty of manslaughter after he shot and killed a Traveller last year has been jailed for six years. In October of last year Pádraig Nally, of Cross, shot and killed John Ward (43), a father of 11 with an address at a halting site on the outskirts of Galway city. During the trial it was claimed that Mr Ward entered Mr Nally's isolated home through a back door uninvited when the farmer was in an outhouse. Mr Nally fired a shotgun at Ward when he emerged, hitting him in the hip. He then beat him with a piece of wood about 20 times. When Ward tried to flee the area Nally reloaded the gun and shot him in the back, killing him. Evidence was given that Mr Nally had been living in fear since strangers had entered his home and robbed him on a number of occasions. It was also claimed that Mr Ward, who had 12 criminal convictions, and his son had called at the house on a number of occasions, sometimes using cars with false number plates. Mr Nally took a note of the registration numbers of all strange cars approaching his house. This was just one of a number of precautions he had been taking following the series of burglaries.
Mr Ward's family were bitterly disappointed that the verdict had not been one of murder and more disappointed at what they saw as a lenient sentence. Nationally there was great sympathy for both sides and a widespread belief that Mr Nally should not have received a custodial sentence. Justice Paul Carney said he was faced with the "most difficult sentencing matter" to come before him in 14 years in the Central Criminal Court. It had been "undoubtedly the most socially divisive case" he had dealt with. In an editorial the Irish Times commended the judge on getting the sentence about right. The matter was discussed in some detail on Pat Kenny's Late Late Show. Others who were faced with intruders spoke of their experiences and how they felt at the time. Some used force but they did not have guns. At the end, on a show of hands, the vast majority of the large audience felt that Mr Nally should not be in prison; only seven believed that he should have been jailed.
Considerable attention was also given to what was seen as the light sentences imposed on two men who assaulted a librarian so severely that he was left in a coma and remained in hospital for 25 days. Former Davis Cup tennis player Stephen Nugent (24), of Swords, and Dermot Cooper (29), of Stillorgan, will serve three months in prison following their plea of guilty to attacking Barry Duggan (37), a native of Sligo, as he cycled up Grafton Street after a night out. Judge Donagh McDonagh actually imposed three-year sentences, but suspended two years and nine months on the basis that the pair had clean records and were unlikely to come to the attention of the gardaí again. The judge added that he did not wish to "destroy young men's lives".
Mr Duggan was knocked to the ground and kicked on the head repeatedly. As a result he suffered severe brain and head injuries; he sustained a fractured skull as well as a broken jaw and eye socket. For five months after he was discharged from hospital he continued to require the support of a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist.
The sentence attracted criticism from some politicians and Victim Support, who said that it was too lenient. Mr Duggan's GP, Dr Micheál Ó Tighearneaigh called for mandatory prison sentences for all those who kick people on the head. Whether the victim lives, dies or is left permanently disabled is simply a matter of luck, he said, and the way things stand the punishment for such attacks is equally a matter of luck.
