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Garret Kirwan, 38, of Ringstown, Mountrath, Co Laois, was convicted of handling stolen agricultural property and fined €720 at Thursday’s sitting of Portlaoise District Court.
Kirwan, who is a part-time farmer and self-employed AI technician, pleaded guilty in relation to the charge set out against him and was represented in court by legal counsel.
As reported by the Irish Farmers Journal last year, the court heard that in the early hours of 13 July 2016, gardaí arrested Kirwan for being in possession of nine rolls of silage wrap. The wrap was identified as part of the proceeds of a large burglary that had taken place at a local co-op in June 2016. The Irish Farmers Journal understands the cost of this burglary to the co-op was in the region of €30,000.
The court heard that Kirwan, a father of four, was not implicated in this burglary, had no previous convictions and there were no further charges pending against him.
Background
Kirwan’s barrister told Judge Alan Mitchell that on Saturday 9 July 2016 Kirwan was in a field with his son when he received a phone call from three men who offered to sell him rolls of silage wrap.
He arrived back at his van to see three men standing beside it with the silage wrap. The men offered to sell Kirwan nine rolls at half their value, which the court put in the region of €720.
Counsel said at this stage Kirwan got a sick feeling in his stomach
The men then put the rolls into the back of Kirwan’s van. However, no money exchanged hands at this stage.
Kirwan subsequently tried to phone the men on two occasions to arrange for making payment, but when he rang the number they had given him a woman picked up and he was not able to make contact with the men again. Counsel said at this stage Kirwan “got a sick feeling in his stomach”.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Laois received confidential information that Kirwan was in possession of some of the silage wrap from the large burglary and they issued a search warrant for his home. After gardaí found the silage wrap they arrested Kirwan in the early hours of Wednesday 13 July. He was subsequently charged with handling of stolen property and released on bail.
Kirwan’s barrister told the court that his client had been cooperative at all times with the gardaí and their investigation and that the stolen items had been recovered and restored to the co-op.
Reckless decision
In an attempt to avoid a conviction for his client, the barrister told the court there were mitigating circumstances to Kirwan’s decision to buy the wrap.
He said that Kirwan’s father had recently received cochlear implants and his client was under financial pressure. He also said there was no premeditation to Kirwan’s actions and he had not met these men by prior arrangement. They had gotten Kirwan’s mobile phone number off the van he uses for his AI business. He said his client admitted he had made a “foolish decision” and that what he had done had been “reckless”.
His reputation among local farmers was in tatters
“He presented no obstruction when the search warrant was executed and he was under financial pressure and wasn’t thinking straight,” he said.
He added that since the news of Kirwan’s arrest had emerged among the community, his business as an AI technician had suffered and his reputation among local farmers was “in tatters”. He said the investigation had taken a severe mental toll on Kirwan and his family and that Kirwan was offering to pay €1,000 to the court in restitution for his error of judgement.
Counsel pleaded with the judge not to make Kirwan the “poster child for rural crime” by giving him a conviction.
An attack on the agricultural industry
Judge Mitchell acknowledged the mitigating circumstances but said the court needed to send out a clear signal that people will only ever steal goods if there is a market for them.
“There is a level of trust among the farming community, and people know that the only place you can legally buy your wrap is in the co-op or some other legal set up,” he said.
If someone offers you silage wrap at a 50% discount, alarm bells should start ringing straight away
“This kind of offence is an attack upon the agricultural industry because it involves buying goods below market value that were stolen from some other farming business. If someone offers you silage wrap at a 50% discount, alarm bells should start ringing straight away.”
Judge Mitchell added that many farmers had a very difficult financial year in 2016 and would not look too kindly upon someone agreeing to buy wrap at such a low price.
However, he added that he believes the agricultural community will forgive Kirwan in time and his credibility and reputation can be restored. He also said that Kirwan could not “buy” his way out of a conviction by paying the €1,000 sum.
Judge Mitchell therefore gave Kirwan a conviction and fined him €720 to be paid in instalments over a six-month period.
He added that if Kirwan was unhappy with the decision of the District Court he could appeal the decision to the Circuit Court.
Kirwan was present in court on Thursday and was accompanied by his partner and his solicitor Tom O’Grady. He spoke to O’Grady at regular intervals and looked anxious and downcast throughout the proceedings.
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