Shell to Sea Measure of Success at Belmullet District Court.

mayo | environment | other press Wednesday June 11, 2008 21:05 by Connaught Telegraph

March 19th 2008 Edition of Connaught Telegraph.

A COUNTY Clare man who defended himself against public order charges arising out of a protest at the Corrib Gas refinery at Bellanaboy has enjoyed a measure of success at Belmullet court.

Niall Harnett, Doonagore, Liscannor, Co. Clare, had a charge of engaging in threatening, insulting and abusive behaviour dismissed but was convicted of obstruction of a peace officer in the course of his or her duty.

(Mr Harnett has lodged his appeal which is likely to be heard in Ballina Circuit Court in November 2008. - Ed)

The State alleged that Detective Inspector Daniel Keane had requested Harnett and two females to leave the area they were in, close to ‘gate one’ at the entrance to the refinery site, at about 7.35 a.m. on May 22 last year. They had concern for the group’s safety as trucks were entering and leaving the site at a rate of one every 90 seconds, approximately.

Harnett protested that the gardaí did not have authority to ask them to move on but the group was moved to the other side of the road in a non-violent manner.

The detective and colleagues returned to where the group had been and Harnett approached again “in a very aggressive manner”, according to Detective Inspector Keane. He demanded the detective’s details. They were given, and Harnett was requested to leave the area again.

The defendant refused and Detective Inspector Keane, along with Detective Garda Noel Brett, pushed Harnett across the road. The defendant resisted.

As they got to the other side Harnett caught witness’ epaulette and pulled him down into a dyke beyond the edge of the road. He kept his grip on and was striking out with his bare hand. Gardaí had to force his grip from the epaulette and eventually Harnett let go.

Detective Inspector Keane’s hat came off and his fleece jacket was half way up his back. Harnett made several attempts to get at him but was blocked by other gardaí. Sergeant John Nolan took him away and diffused the situation.

Harnett, who led his own defence and cross-examined all State witnesses, said they were 15 feet away from the trucks entering and exiting the site, and the trucks were moving away from them. They were sure they were in a very, very safe place.

He simply questioned the gardaí on whey they felt it was a dangerous place to be, and he never got an answer. Then he questioned the reason for giving the order to move on. “I’m entitled to question the guards and they gave no reason,” claimed Harnett.

An instruction, he went on, wasn’t good enough without a good reason.

He moved to the side of the road without a problem. He then attempted to get the names of the gardaí - he claimed he had been assaulted by a garda who was going after his camera. He only got the names of four gardaí.

He said he was upset and “irate” that he had been pushed around for no reason. When he approached Detective Inspector Keane across the road again they “really went for” him. They pushed him across the road. He didn’t want to end up in the drain. His instinct was to grab on. He fell by the side of the road but stood up straightaway.

Harnett said he wasn’t abusive at any stage. He just wanted to get a good reason for being asked to move. “My belief is that the law is founded on good reason. That is all I wanted and I did not get it.”

Judge Timothy Lucey said the difficulty is that you don’t have the luxury of having a mature, adult discussion with people in circumstances as outlined in the case.

It might, for example, seem very unreasonable to be asked to move on at night on the streets but you’re supposed to get out of there, not enter into a discussion. “Somebody has to be the boss,” said Judge Lucey.

He added: “Once a garda has reasonable cause or suspicion, if he says you have to move then at that point you should go.”

The point was that you couldn’t run a garda force if every single person queried a request and refused to move on.

The parties were moved across the road and that should have been the end of it, but it was after that it all went wrong.

“Once a direction is given you can’t come back again,” Judge Lucey pointed out. “You must obey the order, full stop.”

He said the defendant began to lose the run of himself slightly. He was upset and inflamed, and he was reluctantly pushed across the road. It was a shame, because up to that point his behaviour in general, and that of everyone else at the location, was good.

Judge Lucey had his doubts about the threatening, insulting and abusive charge. Harnett was annoying and a whole lot of things, but not threatening, insulting or abusive.

He did obstruct, however. He hung on to Detective Inspector Keane. “That’s not good behaviour. You cannot do that. Once you were tussling and scuffling with Detective Inspector Keane you were at a very low point.

“It’s important that the court upholds people’s rights but it’s also important that people obey the law. They’re two sides of the one coin.”

Harnett, 42, said he is currently studying and living in Co. Clare with his girlfriend. He believed at the time he was justified in his behaviour, but he would reassess and reapply what he heard in court to his future behaviour.

“That’s a fair response,” commended Judge Lucey. He added, though, that to grapple with a garda was a serious business.

He accepted the bona fides of the defendant and believed he now accepted it wasn’t the right time to question the gardaí.

“You must not put a hand on a garda. If you do you must accept you are in custodial sentence area.”

Judge Lucey sentenced Harnett to three months in prison but suspended the term for 12 months on condition he keeps the peace and doesn’t commit any public order offences for the period. Recognisance was fixed in the event of an appeal.