A Donegal pensioner has been charged with producing a shotgun during the course of a dispute.
At Letterkenny District Court, Judge Éiteáin Cunningham accepted jurisdiction in the case of George Clarke, who has been charged with an offence relating to an alleged incident on January 25, 2022.
The 71-year-old, of Drumnacross, Drumkeen, is charged that he did in the course of a dispute produce in a manner likely unlawfully to intimidate another person an article capable of inflicting serious injury, to wit, a double barrel shotgun. The charge is contrary to section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990.
Inspector Paul Gallagher told the court that it was alleged that the shotgun was “produced and pointed” to persons in the Letterleague area on the day in question.
Inspector Gallagher told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed summary disposal in the matter which related, he said, to an “ongoing dispute over land”.
While the gun was pointed, Inspector Gallagher said that it was at “somewhat of a distance” and there was “no physical altercation”.
“All parties were at a distance,” Inspector Gallagher said, adding that while cartridges were “mentioned” this aspect would likely be disputed.
Barrister for Clarke, Mr Sean McGee BL, said there was a “deeper sort of context to the occasion in question”.
He said there was a dispute and some grievance on the part of the complainants regarding inheritance which his client received.
“That manifested into a dispute about a right of way,” Mr McGee said, noting that his client had made complaints regarding “various incidents of harassment”.
Mr McGee said that on the night in question he was followed by a vehicle. He had noticed a car stopped with its headlights shining towards him.
He said he drove all the way to Rockhill House and was ”pursued” by that car, which had been in a laneway. Mr McGee told the court that Clarke turned his vehicle at Rockhill and tried to get back to his brother’s house, but was followed again.
Mr McGee said his client had legally held two firearms, one of which a shotgun he has had since he was 25. He inherited a second shotgun from the deceased man and obtained a licence for it.
One the night in question, Mr McGee said Clarke had a shotgun dismantled on the front passenger seat of his van.
“He assembled it as a means of keeping the cars away from him until his brother arrived,” Mr McGee said.
Mr McGee said there was CCTV which showed Clarke with the shotgun resting on his arm pointing downwards.
“It is a situation where the gun was produced, it wasn’t loaded,” Mr McGee said, adding that Clarke’s brother attempted to call the gardai. When they got to speak to gardai, Mr McGee said they asked Clarke to put down the gun and he was “fully cooperative”.
Mr McGee asked the court to “accept jurisdiction in the strongest possible terms”.
He said: “An elderly farmer was pursued around the district and he was in fear of his own physical safety. He did what he could for the time being until gardai could arrive”.
Mr McGee said his client has no previous convictions and was never before in trouble.
Judge Cunningham said she was accepting jurisdiction and adjourned the case for hearing.