Father and son fined after row with neighbours over gravel in Wicklow
The Wicklow PeopleA father and son from Wicklow have been fined, following a confrontation over gravel delivered to a rural lane, with Bray District Court hearing that the pair removed gravel intended for a neighbour’s property.
Michael O’Toole (28) and his father Martin O’Toole (61), both with an address in Newcastle, Co Wicklow, appeared at Bray District Court, each charged with theft. Michael also faced a further public order charge.
The first witness, Patrick Doyle, testified that on January 28, 2025, he delivered a truckload of gravel to an address at Church Lane, Newcastle, Co Wicklow. Mr Doyle told the court that he unloaded the gravel in a lay-by at the side of the road, noting that he had placed it in the same spot he had used for more than 20 years.
The owner of the gravel, Ed Power, told the court that he had arranged and paid for the gravel to be delivered to the lane for maintenance work on his own home, not for the communal lane. When he later arrived, he said he saw Michael O’Toole operating a tractor and moving the gravel, with Martin standing nearby holding a shovel.
When challenged, Mr Power said Michael told him, “It’s my gravel; I can do whatever I want with it”. Mr Power alleged that Michael then blocked his access and became aggressive, at one point threatening to tip the gravel at his home.
Mr Power’s wife, who was in the car, became frightened by the confrontation. Mr Power said he contacted his brother-in-law, retired garda Sean Carroll, for advice and later called the gardaí.
When questioned by counsel for the prosecution, Mark Donnelly, Mr Power’s wife told the court that she observed Michael “jumping around with a shovel”. She noted that she was afraid he would hit her and that she left the scene soon after.
Ciara O’Brien BL, for the defence, described the lane as uneven and full of potholes. Ms Power agreed. Ms O’Brien told the court that her clients believed that if the gravel was on their land, they were entitled to spread it.
Mr Carroll told the court that he had been a member of An Garda Síochána for 30 years. When he arrived at the lane, Martin told him he had an agreement with An Bord Pleanála and had the authority to take the gravel. Mr Carroll told him that had no bearing on the issue at hand.
Mr Carroll described Michael’s behaviour as aggressive, stating: “I am not talking to you; I am speaking to your father.” Mr Carroll added: “There was no reasoning with them, so we waited for the gardaí.”
The two responding gardaí told the court in separate testimonies that they arrived at the lane at 4:40pm, where they observed two piles of gravel. Mr Power explained the situation to them at the scene, stating that he had an agreement with the landowner.
“Once you leave, I will continue to do it,” said Michael O’Toole. Gardaí told the court that they explained to him he was crossing the line into a Section 4 theft.
Martin O’Toole alleged that the gravel was blocking his driveway. The gardaí noted, however, that his home was on the right-hand side of the lane, while the gravel was in two piles on a lay-by on the left-hand side.
The court heard that Mr Power and the O’Toole’s were advised to “try and keep it as a civil matter”.
Sergeant Lorraine Heffernan from Newtownmountkennedy Garda Station informed the court that she was the investigating officer in the case. She took statements from all parties involved and made contact with Martin O’Toole on March 4, regarding the allegations against both him and his son.
Sgt Heffernan said Martin agreed to make a voluntary statement, and she also sought CCTV footage from the area which might have covered the incident. However, the footage did not extend far enough back in time to capture the events of January 28.
On March 6, 2025, a search warrant was later obtained for the location of the camera footage. Gardaí provided the O’Toole’s with a copy of the warrant, but when the SD card was examined, it was found that the relevant footage had already been overwritten and was no longer available.
Sgt Heffernan said an invoice for the gravel delivery was later located.
She also confirmed that Oisín Murphy, solicitor for the defendants, was in contact throughout the investigation.
Sgt Heffernan added that gardaí reviewed text messages between Micheal O’Toole and a neighbour which were noted as part of the file.
On April 9, another witness, Aidan O’Riordan, provided a statement saying the gravel belonged jointly to himself and Ed Power. Mr O’Riordan testified that the neighbours had previously put money together to fix the lane, including the O’Toole’s and other residents, but usually it was just him and Ed who took the lead.
“Ed has a communal focus,” he said, adding: “Ed would have bought the gravel off his own back if it was for use on his property.”
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Ciara O’Brien BL told the court that Martin O’Toole has worked in Bray Garda Station for over 30 years. She said he is also a part-time farmer with horses and sheep and is the father of five children.
Ms O’Brien added that he is also a landlord with an excellent relationship with his tenants. The court was told Martin has one previous conviction for assault, dating back to the late 2000’s,
She described Michael O’Toole as a “fantastic student” who graduated from UCD in 2019 with a degree in landscape architecture and has since enrolled in King’s College, studying law, while running his own gardening company.
Ms O’Brien noted that Michael has no previous convictions and told the court that his hobbies include animals and farm machinery.
Judge David Kennedy commented: “This was an avoidable couple of hours taken away from the District Court,” before fining the father and son duo €500 each for the theft.