Tipperary court hears that evidence in case was essentially finding ‘sh*t on the road’

A Moyne horse owner accused an animal rescue of taking his horses out of a field while he was abroad.

He also accused An Garda Síochána of inventing a witness.

Richard Egan, 52, of Moyneard Cross, Moyneard, Moyne, Thurles, was charged with being the person in charge and allowing his horse to pose a threat to the public.

Although Judge Elizabeth MacGrath did not accept Mr Egan’s accusations, she did dismiss the charge against him.

Mr Egan represented himself at Thurles District Court.

Pre-trial motion

Before the trial, Mr Egan made an application for the case to be struck out. He argued that the prosecution was missing an essential witness.

He told the court that he intended to “prove” the witness never existed. Inspector James White of Thurles Garda Station, acting for the prosecution, said the witness had not cooperated.

He said she did not give a statement and did not want to be a witness. But that she was not essential to their case. Mr Egan argued that she was and needed to be produced.

Judge MacGrath said the witness not being present could only hurt the prosecution’s case.

She told Mr Egan that she would ensure his right to a fair trial would be maintained. The judge ruled that the case could go ahead.

Wandering horses

Garda Evan Quigley of Thurles Garda Station gave evidence that on August 13, 2021, at around 10am, he and another guard responded to a call that four horses were loose on a road in Rossestown.

He told the court that as they drove along the road, there was a trail of horse droppings from around one to two kilometres from where the horses were found.

“We took it at a slow pace, in case we came up on a horse,” said Garda Quigley.

When they arrived, a woman flagged them down, and he observed that she had corralled the horses into her garden to prevent them from causing an accident.

Garda Quigley said at the time, they could not identify the owner of the horse and contacted a rescue to take possession of them.

About two hours later, representatives from the rescue arrived and took the horses to Cork.

The gardaí put up a notice in the station that four horses were seized in the area.

Mr Egan reported the horses missing and later claimed the horses from the rescue, the court heard.

‘Fantasy Person’

Mr Egan asked Garda Quigley why the microchips had not been checked.Garda Quigley said they did not have the capacity to do so.

Mr Egan put it to Garda Quigley that as the woman who took the horses in was not in court, it was the case that she does not exist.

He said he went along the road looking for the woman, but was unable to locate her.

“I believe this woman is a fantasy person,” said Mr Egan.

Mr Egan also told the court that the address the horses were found at, according to the paperwork was in Templemore and therefore a different court district.

He suggested the court did not have jurisdiction in this matter.

Judge MacGrath said she was satisfied that whether the address was Thurles or Templemore, her court had jurisdiction.

Garda Quigley added that had it been Templemore, a unit from that station would have responded.

“So that won’t take you very far in terms of the district area,” said Judge MacGrath.

Not Rabbit Droppings

The court heard that Garda Mark Conway accompanied Garda Quigley to the incident.

Garda Conway confirmed his colleagues' evidence that they responded to a report of horses wandering the road. He observed droppings on the road near the location where a resident had taken possession of them.

Mr Egan asked Garda Conway what he meant by horse droppings. Garda Conway responded:

“Well they are different from rabbit droppings, I’ll tell you that.”

Mr Egan told the court that he travelled the road and saw no droppings. He also said the horses could not leave the field.

Inspector White asked Garda Conway if, given the number of horses in the area, if it is common for them to get loose. Garda Conway confirmed for the court that was the case.

Rescue

Patrick Bourke, a representative for the animal rescue, told the court that on the day of the incident, the control centre received a call from Thurles Garda Station to collect four horses loose on a road.

He and a colleague went to the location the gardai provided and seized the horses.

The horses were taken to Cork, where they were checked by a vet, the court heard. Mr Bourke provided photos and paperwork for the horses, which were also shown to Mr Egan.

He told the court that it cost ‘just north’ of €6,000 to look after the horses.

Mr Egan, on cross examination asked Mr Bourke if he had the proper documentation for his vehicle and trailer used to transport the animals and if he understood the legal requirements to seize an animal.

Judge MacGrath told Mr Egan that his questions for the witness should be relevant. Mr Egan told the court that he had a ‘legal

right’ to know and began to shout over the judge.

However, Judge MacGrath responded saying:

“Mr Egan, if I sitting here, broke the law, it would not be relevant.”

Mr Egan then asked the witness if he had difficulty with his eyesight as the horses in the documentation did not describe his animals.

Judge MacGrath intervened again, pointing out that Mr Egan paid €4,000 to retrieve his horses and raised no concerns about them not being the right animals.

Garda White asked that the witness now be released.

On the stand

Mr Egan gave evidence there were 22 horses in the field, not all his.

He told the court that horses stay close to each other, and if one gets loose, they all leave. He said this was particularly true of young horses, which was the case with the four missing horses.

Judge MacGrath asked Mr Egan if he believed they were taken deliberately.

“I believe the horses were taken out of the field,” said Mr Egan.

Mr Egan told the court that a guard from Templemore Garda Station had visited him when he reported the horses missing.

He reiterated his claim that the woman does not exist and that if she did, she would want her garden fixed.

This, he was willing to do.

Inspector White asked Mr Egan if he knew who took them, and he said no.

He said he was in Britain when the horses were taken and had left them in the care of his family.

However, he said there were no gaps in hedges or gates left open, and he did not believe that somebody could have closed the gate later.

However, Inspector White told the court that the garda member who visited Mr Egan recorded that Mr Egan said the horses could have escaped while construction was being done in the field.

This, he said, was before Mr Egan claimed his horses and charges were filed.
Mr Egan denied this.

He said it was known of animal rescues to take horses out of fields. Inspector White called the accusation “slanderous.”

Judgement

Judge Macgrath said she was satisfied that Mr Egan was in charge of the horses, and she does not believe the woman to be fictional.

However, she said she noted that Mr Egan reported the animals missing.

She also said the ‘difficulty’ she had was that in order to show they posed a danger, the witness would have to have come to court.

“The evidence is essentially finding ‘sh*t on the road’,” said Judge MacGrath.

Therefore, she said she was dismissing the case. Mr Egan asked to make an application for costs.

However, the judge responded:

“You are flogging a dead horse with me on that one.”