Micheal Martin called 'gobshite' and 'traitor' by farmer at Ploughing

A FARMER who denied calling An Taoiseach Micheal Martin a “gobshite” and “traitor” at this year's National Ploughing Championships has been convicted of committing a public order offence.

Vincent Harrington (60), Cloonmacmullan, Kingsland, Boyle, Co Roscommon received a six-week suspended prison sentence after pleading not guilty to engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at Screggan, Tullamore on September 15.

Judge Andrew Gubbins convicted Mr Harrington at Tullamore District Court after hearing evidence from two detective gardai who were on security duty at the Ploughing.

In his own evidence Mr Harrington said the gardai were telling lies and maintained he had only asked the Taoiseach a question.

Detective Garda Padraig Ryan, Portarlington Garda Station, told the court he was on duty in plain clothes at the Ploughing close to the IFA tent when the Taoiseach's convoy arrived at 11.50am for a meet and greet with the public.

Detective Garda Ryan said there was a good atmosphere with up to 60 people around and lots of selfies being taken as the Taoiseach moved along.

At 12 noon he observed Vincent Harrington approaching and he was very irate and became abusive, calling the Taoiseach a “gobshite” and a “traitor”.

He said Mr Harrington was highly emotional and after he started to push towards the Taoiseach the garda put his hands on him and he was put in handcuffs and arrested with the help of Detective Garda Barry McPaul.

Prior to his arrest he had been “waving his hands very wildly” and made a serious effort to push past the security team.

The garda said Mr Harrington was aggressive and some people were shocked and moved away.

Mr Harrington was still aggressive after his arrest and made a number of attempts to leave and repeatedly called the gardai “traitors” and blamed Mr Martin for the economy and his failing beef farm.

The man was given a cigarette by Detective Garda Ryan who called a garda van for transport and he had calmed down by the time it arrived after about half an hour.

Mr Harrington was brought to Tullamore Garda Station where he was formally charged and replied “sorry” after caution.

Cross-examined by defending solicitor, Aisling Maloney, Detective Garda Ryan agreed that Mr Harrington had the right to raise concerns and said the man was “giving out loudly” about the state of the economy.

The garda accepted Mr Harrington had mentioned the issue of Brazilian beef to the Taoiseach but rejected the man's assertion that he had not used the words “gobshite” and “traitor”.

Detective Garda Ryan said a “red mist descended on Mr Harrington” and he went too far, resulting in the Taoiseach taking a step back.

The garda did not accept the man “just spoke” to An Taoiseach and repeated that he had gone too far, creating a public order incident and completely changing the atmosphere of a meet and greet where lots of families were taking pictures.

Asked by Ms Maloney about a video clip which showed Mr Harrington with handcuffs on him but did not show him shouting, Detective Garda Ryan said he had seen the clip on social media and it had a song superimposed over the sound and it could have been edited.

He said people who had issues with the state use such videos to paint the state in a bad light.

During this evidence Mr Harrington, who was sitting in the front row of the courtroom benches, help up a mobile phone and briefly played what appeared to be the clip being discussed.

As the cross examination by Ms Maloney continued, Detective Garda Ryan said while he had pepper spray, he did not use it because it would not be appropriate.

Detective Garda Peter McGuire told the court he was with the special detective unit, on close protection with the Taoiseach, when at 11.50am he became aware of a man shouting and roaring.

Detective Garda McGuire said the man's manner was aggressive and threatening and he used the words “traitor”, “gobshite” and other obscenities.

When the garda put up his right arm as a “soft barrier” his arm was grabbed by the accused who told the detective “not to f***** touch” him and called him a “traitor”.

The garda said there were between 1,500 to 2,000 interactions with the public that day and the gardai only had an issue in one.

Detective Garda McGuire said the gardai were not being heavy handed but felt a threat was being presented by Mr Harrington.

Replying to Ms Maloney, the garda agreed that members of the public were entitled to approach the Taoiseach and there had been “curt exchanges” between Mr Martin and other people who stated their views in a controlled and dignified fashion.

He said Mr Harrington's demeanour, gait and body language attracted his attention and while he initially thought he was intoxicated, that was not the case.

Mr Harrington was shouting at the top of his voice and while there was an entitlement to be passionate, there was no entitlement to be disruptive.

In his own evidence Mr Harrington said he left home at 5.30 or 6am and was at the gate of the Ploughing site before it opened.

His intention was to buy a cattle crush and during the morning he went to a number of different sellers and spoke to them about prices.

Mr Harrington said at 11.58am he “said his prayers” as he always did at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock and was walking at a fast pace because he had told his wife he would meet herself and a friend at 3pm.

He saw Mr Martin and asked him if he would ask Larry Murrin to step down from his position on the Bord Bia board because Brazilian beef had been banned out of Europe.

Mr Martin stepped back and “the next thing” there was a “heap of men” around him and he did not know what they were.

Mr Harrington said that “maybe” his own hand had gone up in the way a footballer's would to balance himself if he was being tackled.

He said that when the gardai told him who they were he told them they'd be better stopping people from going the wrong way on the motorway.

He denied shouting at the Taoiseach and calling him a traitor but did ask him if he “wanted to poison Irish children going back to school”.

He said the court hearing was “like the Kerry babies tribunal” and the Taoiseach was “telling them what to say”.

He described himself as a hard working farmer and said there were “three million people” in this country against Micheal Martin but he did not listen.

He said one of the gardai was a “completely different man” today from the day at the Ploughing and said he had been told he would be let go if the garda van did not come for him.

Mr Harrington said he told a garda: “You're not going to make a show pony out of me, I done nothing wrong.”

At the garda station he said “sorry” to the gardai because he could see the “shame” on their faces and he believed they were on his side but had to do what they did “because the Taoiseach was there”.

He added that the country was a “free state” which wasn't “under English rule yet thanks be to God”.

He said he always spoke loudly because he worked in an environment with noise and tractors and would also shout at his dog.

On a number of occasions he said he was speaking the truth and God would be his judge.

Cross-examined by Sandra Mahon, Offaly state solicitor, Mr Harrington said he had asked the Taoiseach a question about Brazilian beef and he was sorry Mr Martin was not present in court “under oath”.

He denied using bad language and said the prosecution was a “set-up from the Taoiseach and the guards”.

He accused a garda of telling lies and said the guards “lost it” that day because they knew they should not have done what they did.

He did not accept Ms Mahon's assertion that his actions were threatening, asking how he could be frightening as a man “with a bad hand”.

He also said if he had used the word “gobshite” it would be on a video because there were plenty of Fianna Fail councillors present during the incident.

He said after he asked his question all Mr Martin had to say was “I'll get back to you” as he sometimes does when he is asked questions in the Dail.

When he concluded his evidence Judge Gubbins drew attention to the garda station custody record noting he had said “I'm sorry, it was just in the moment” after he was charged.

Mr Harrington said he did not remember saying that but did remember saying “sorry” and “50 quid” being taken off him before his release.

Finding Mr Harrington guilty, Judge Gubbins said it was part and parcel of being a politician to deal with members of the public who could be emotional on certain topics bur Mr Harrington went “far beyond that” and Detective Garda McGuire believed he was a threat to the public.

In relation to Mr Harrington's point about Mr Martin not being present in court, Judge Gubbins said it was not a requirement for the public or the Taoiseach to be present to give evidence in charges such as the one before the court.

The judge said it was clear to him from Mr Harrington's demeanour when he gave evidence that he was an emotional man with a loud voice who was very passionate about his views and he believed he was not listened to on the day.

He concluded that Mr Harrington had used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of occasioning a breach of the peace, or was reckless as to whether there would be a breach.

The judge said it did not stand to reason to say the accused did not raise his voice and he noted Mr Harrington describing the Taoiseach taking a step back when asked the question.

Ms Mahon said Mr Harrington had two “quite historic” unrelated previous convictions, one which dated from April 1987 in Carrick-on-Shannon District Court for “excess alcohol in urine” which was possibly an “historic driving offence” for which he was fined 50 punts.

At Boyle District Court in July 1988 he was convicted of drink-driving and disqualified for three years and fined 200 pounds.

Judge Gubbins agreed with defence solicitor Ms Maloney that those convictions were of a different nature to the matter before the court and he would not factor them into his sentence.

Ms Mahon said the accused had also received an adult caution in February 2022 for an incident in November 2021 where he shouted at someone at a petrol station.

Judge Gubbins said Mr Harrington had gone beyond what he should have when he attempted to discuss his livelihood with the Taoiseach but he accepted that state's evidence that a red mist had descended.

He said it was behaviour that could not be tolerated, particularly when there are so many members of the public and women and children present.

The judge said the offending was at the highest end of severity and could attract a maximum of three months in prison and a fine of €1,000.

He imposed a sentence of six weeks in prison, suspended for two years on condition he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

After he signed a bond before leaving the courtroom Mr Harrington smiled at the judge and shook his head.

He then told the judge he would like “to say a prayer for these people who told lies in court”.

Judge Gubbins told him he was in a court. “If you want to say a prayer you can go to a church,” said the judge.

Recognisances were fixed for an appeal but Ms Maloney indicated that her client would not be appealing the matter.

Legal aid was granted to Mr Harrington last week after the District Court heard he was a “small farmer” earning €150 a week.

(Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme)