Three men arrested last year were in possession of equipment stolen from five different farms, prosecutors said on Tuesday. The men pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property and illegally taking a vehicle at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court.

On 11 July 2016, gardaí stopped Gerard McInerney (39) of 30 Woodbrook Close, Mountrath; Thomas McInerney (40) of 22 Twomey Park, Mountmellick; and William McInerney (37) of 22 Newline Close, Mountrath, in a Mitsubishi crew-cab jeep stolen from a well-known beef farmer in Coole, Co Laois, on 23 June, prosecutor Will Fennelly told the court.

The jeep contained tools stolen from the same farm, as well as a hammer and snips traced to another farm burglarised in nearby Grantstown on 24 June.

A nailbar found in the vehicle was stolen from Rathdowney, Co Laois, on 30 June and a bolt cutter the next day from Durrow, Co Laois, the prosecution added.

The jeep was towing a trailer stolen with feed inside it from another farm in Tommevara, Co Tipperary, on 5 July.

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The McInerneys, who have been in custody since last July, rammed two garda cars with the jeep and injured three gardaí as they tried to evade arrest, Chief Superintendent John Scanlon told the court. He added that one garda was still on sick leave following the incident, and read a victim impact statement from another who feared he was “going to be run over” and “killed” at the scene.

Two of the men briefly hid on a nearby farm before gardaí found them.

Chief Superintendent Scanlon told the court that local detectives backed up by the force’s air support unit, national surveillance unit and armed response unit took part in the operation after detecting the stolen jeep hidden in a bog at Cloncourse, a “remote area” near Mountrath. The two garda cars and the jeep were “written off” in the crash.

Guilty plea

The accused have entered a guilty plea agreement with the prosecution, and their defence team reminded the court that they could be sentenced only for possession of stolen property and illegally taking a vehicle, but not for other offences such as endangerment, theft or burglary.

Judge Keenan Johnson said he would consider all the evidence placed before him, including the family duties of the three men, their prior convictions and their record after 11 months in prison before handing down “fair and proportionate” sentences.

“These items taken from farmyards are an attack on that trust on which rural society is based,” he added.

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Garda rammed with stolen farm jeep thought he was ‘going to be killed’

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