Courts / Roscommon / Report
'The most barbaric violations of human rights': Strokestown eviction vigilantes to remain in jail
Summary
Three men have had their convictions upheld by the Court of Appeal following a vigilante attack on security personnel at a repossessed farmhouse near Strokestown, County Roscommon, in December 2018. Martin O'Toole, aged 60, of Claremorris, County Mayo; PJ Sweeney, aged 59, of Ramelton, County Donegal; and Paul Beirne, aged 58, of Boyle, County Roscommon, were each sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment after being convicted of fifteen charges including aggravated burglary, violent disorder, false imprisonment and assault causing harm. Mr Justice Peter Charleton described the offences as "the most barbaric violations of human rights", rejecting arguments regarding evidence admissibility and identification procedures. The judge noted that approximately thirty to forty people participated in the incident, during which armed assailants beat security staff, set vehicles alight, and fatally injured a dog. The court dismissed all appeals and affirmed the convictions.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'The most barbaric violations of human rights': Strokestown eviction vigilantes to remain in jail. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- December 16, 2018 Incident
- December 11, 2018 Incident
- December 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2009 and 2012 Other
- 2024-07-31 Publication
Case subjects
Applicant
Outcome: Photo: Collins) Three men jailed for their part in a vigilante "mob" attack on security personnel guarding a repossessed farmhouse in Roscommon committed "the most barbaric violations of human rights", the Court of Appeal has ruled in upholding their convictions. "Though dressed up as public action in redress of injustice, eight security men, simply doing their job for modest wages, were targeted by a vicious mob and made submit to the lowest of attacks on their irreducible entitlement to human dignity," said Mr Justice Peter Charleton today, rejecting appeals by Martin O'Toole (60), PJ Sweene O'Toole, of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris Co Mayo; Sweeney, of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal; and Beirne, of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon were each sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty in June of last year of 15 charges in relation to the incident, including aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage to a door of the house.
Applicant
Outcome: Photo: Collins) Three men jailed for their part in a vigilante "mob" attack on security personnel guarding a repossessed farmhouse in Roscommon committed "the most barbaric violations of human rights", the Court of Appeal has ruled in upholding their convictions. "Though dressed up as public action in redress of injustice, eight security men, simply doing their job for modest wages, were targeted by a vicious mob and made submit to the lowest of attacks on their irreducible entitlement to human dignity," said Mr Justice Peter Charleton today, rejecting appeals by Martin O'Toole (60), PJ Sweene O'Toole, of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris Co Mayo; Sweeney, of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal; and Beirne, of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon were each sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty in June of last year of 15 charges in relation to the incident, including aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage to a door of the house.
Applicant
Outcome: Photo: Collins) Three men jailed for their part in a vigilante "mob" attack on security personnel guarding a repossessed farmhouse in Roscommon committed "the most barbaric violations of human rights", the Court of Appeal has ruled in upholding their convictions. "Though dressed up as public action in redress of injustice, eight security men, simply doing their job for modest wages, were targeted by a vicious mob and made submit to the lowest of attacks on their irreducible entitlement to human dignity," said Mr Justice Peter Charleton today, rejecting appeals by Martin O'Toole (60), PJ Sweene O'Toole, of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris Co Mayo; Sweeney, of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal; and Beirne, of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon were each sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty in June of last year of 15 charges in relation to the incident, including aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage to a door of the house.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- High Court
Topics
Burglary Stage Appeal Violent Crime
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