Trial begins for Longford man charged with threatening to kill two men fishing on the canal

The trial of a man charged with two counts of threats to kill began this morning before Judge Comerford and a jury of ten people at Longford Circuit Court.

Thomas McDermott of 68 Cluain na Sidhe, Killashee, Co Longford, pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill or seriously harm a fisherman on September 25, 2019 and to threatening to kill or seriously harm another fisherman on February 2, 2019.

Maps of the area were provided to judge and jury this morning by the prosecution and Gda Anne Lawless of the Divisional Crime Scene Investigation Unit provided a collection of eight photographs taken at the scene in December 2021.

When questioned by prosecuting barrister Shane Geraghty, Mr Geoffrey Cooper, one of the men who allege Mr McDermott threatened them, told the court that he was fishing on the west bank of the Royal Canal near Killashee with a friend of his, Martin Blacow, who was visiting from the UK.

"We were fishing and minding our own business. It was September 25, 2019," he explained from the witness box, using the photographs provided to indicate where exactly they were fishing.

"There's a cut-off which used to be the old canal going into Longford and we were fishing at that junction. We were fishing with poles, which are put-together fishing rods that are up to 16 metres long. But on that particular day, I was fishing at 13 metres across the canal.

"I noticed to my left, two black and white springer spaniels followed by a gentleman on the bank," Mr Cooper continued.

He described the man as six feet tall, stocky and wearing a three-quarter length jacket with the word 'Arctic' emblazoned on the right shoulder. The man also wore green wellington boots and a hat, the court was told and, while Mr Cooper couldn't see his hair colour under the hat, he "got the impression he had very light hair".

"I speak to everybody if I'm fishing and most people speak back," said Mr Cooper. "I spoke to the dogs and to the guy and I got more or less a grunt in return."

The court heard that Mr Cooper's silver jeep was parked about six feet away from him - "on the bank but not blocking the walkway". Mr Blacow was fishing just 20 yards away from Mr Cooper.

"He walked by, went to the hedge, pulled two big tree branches out of the hedge and launched them into the canal," said Mr Cooper.

"The dogs jumped in after them and then he pulled the logs out and did it again. I said 'that's not very considerate', and all hell broke loose."

Mr Cooper told the court that the accused "dropped one log" and carried the other over to him and "the language started".

"He said 'you f*cking English c*nt' and 'you b*stard' and he stood behind me with the log waving behind my head. I said nothing," said Mr Cooper.

"He said 'I'll f*cking kill you, you English c*nt, you're from Yorkshire' and I said yes I am from Yorkshire. He said 'I've f*cking dealt with you before, you c*nt, you're a f*cking dead man, I'll cut your balls off, I'll cut your throat'.

"I kept talking very quietly," Mr Cooper recalled, "he put the branch down and knelt beside me and took his phone out.

"He said, 'you don't live here, I do' and I told him I do live here. He took my photograph so I said 'now you've taken my photograph, what about me taking yours?'.

"He said 'you'll be f*cking dead before you get your phone out. I'll f*cking kill you. I'll kill your whole family. Only f*cking idiots fish with rods that long. You're a f*cking idiot. Don't ever come down here again on your own because I'll f*cking kill you'.

"And if you want my comment, he definitely would," said Mr Cooper.

Mr Cooper then told the court that he and Mr Blacow began to pack up their equipment and that he himself wrote everything that had happened in a notebook he kept in his car because of "certain experience".

"You said you have certain experience with certain things," Mr Geraghty prompted.

"Yes, I worked 25 years for the British Prison Service and spent seven years working in a psychiatric unit for the criminally insane," said Mr Cooper, stating that he carried a notebook with him then and still carries one now.

"I made some brief notes so I remembered what took place and then I went home, typed a statement and took it to Longford police station," said Mr Cooper.

"I waited a while and didn't think anything would happen. Then Garda (Tom) Killin contacted me and I liaised with him. I went to Killashee and I knew where the guy lived and I identified him in Killashee."

Mr Cooper explained that he sat in his car adjacent to an address "on a funny named road" until he saw a taxi pull up outside the house and someone went inside.

"I waited and a person came out of the house and walked down the pavement. I took photographs on my phone and then I drove by as close to the gentleman as I am to the judge now," said Mr Cooper.

"It was the same guy as was on the bank, wearing the same three-quarter length sport jacket."

He added that the first photo was taken of the taxi outside and the man going into the house. The second photo, he said, was taken about an hour later when the man came out of the house.

"I came out from where I was parked and drove very slowly past. It was the same man who verbally assaulted us on the canal on the 25th of September, 2019," he said.

"As I drove by, it was obvious it was the same jacket as he had in the bank. I took the photographs to the Garda Station and gave them to Gda Killion."

Defending barrister, Gerard Groarke, began his cross-examination by asking a number of questions about fishing, specifically the length of the poles and how much of that pole lies behind a fisherman as he fishes, establishing that part of the pole was behind Mr Cooper as he fished.

Asking about the distance between the car, Mr Groarke established that there was space on the other side of the jeep for people to pass.

"So the walkways wasn't blocked," said Mr Groarke.

"No, I wouldn't do that," Mr Cooper replied.

"So this man approaches with two dogs and you said you talked to the dogs. Did they come over to you?" asked Mr Groarke.

"No," said Mr Cooper, adding that the dogs ran past on the other side of the jeep.

"Did you notice sticks in their mouths?" asked Mr Groarke.

"They had no sticks in their mouth," Mr Cooper replied.

"I'm putting it to you that they had sticks in their mouths," said Mr Groarke.

"That's rubbish," said Mr Cooper.

Mr Cooper also refuted a statement by Mr Groarke that the accused had been listening to music when he passed.

"Mr McDermott says your rod was in his path and he had to step over it," said Mr Groarke.

Mr Cooper insisted that was "rubbish" because he would usually ensure his rod doesn't block anyone.

"I wouldn't let anybody step over that. It's a valuable piece of equipment," he said.

"He would say he proceeded and Martin's rod was also in his way," said Mr Groarke.

"That's ridiculous," said Mr Cooper.

Mr Groarke put it to the witness that his client had difficulty with the rods because he had a back problem at the time.

"He didn't have a back problem when he bent down and threatened to slit my throat," said Mr Cooper.

"He didn't bend down and threaten to slit your throat," said Mr Groarke.

"He did," insisted Mr Cooper.

Mr Groarke went on to say that his client passed both fishermen and proceeded to take the sticks from his dogs.

"No, they didn't have sticks in their mouths. The sticks were four foot long and three inches round or a bit more," said Mr Cooper. "I've had springers and they are incapable of carrying sticks that large at speed.”

“He says he threw the stick into the canal for them to fetch and when he did so, he received abuse from the first fisherman he encountered,” said Mr Groarke.

“No, I’m not that kind of person, that’s an absolute lie,” said Mr Cooper.

“He says he took two photographs - one of you and one of the rear of your jeep. He said while he was taking the photograph of the first fisherman - you - that you said to him, ‘I’ll take your f*cking phone and throw it in the canal,” said Mr Groake.

Mr Cooper laughed loudly at this and said, “look at the size of him and look at me”.

“That’s not true. There’s no point in me telling a lie. I don’t lie. Why should I pick on this guy who I’ve never seen in my life? I was out fishing, minding my own business,” he said.

Mr Groarke then moved on to Mr Cooper’s decision to “drive around Killashee”, noting that Mr Cooper knew where to go because he'd been told where to go by Gda Killion.

"You brought your statement into Longford and you had contact from Gda Killion from Lanesboro but at this point, you didn't know who you had seen," said Mr Groarke.

"Gda Killion told you to go down to a particular location in Killashee and see if you could spot the man there."

Mr Cooper agreed and said that he initially went there with Gda Killion.

"You made a statement - 'I decided to look around Killashee' - but Gda Killion told you where to go," said Mr Groarke.

"I knew where to go," said Mr Cooper.

"Why did you drive around Killashee on a number of occasions when the reality is you knew where you were going and Gda Killion had told you where to go?" asked Mr Groarke.

“I relayed my story to several people and they all told me who it was,” said Mr Cooper.

“I didn’t ask you that. You’re attempting, in your own sweet way, to tell the jury that there are other people who would give the same evidence as you, but they’re not here to give evidence,” said Mr Groarke.

A second witness, Martin Blacow, who had been fishing with Mr Cooper on September 25, gave evidence from Burnley Crown Court via live video link.

He explained that he and Mr Cooper had been fishing in Killashee when a man came towards them. He confirmed to Mr Geraghty that the man had been throwing sticks in the water for his dogs and that Mr Cooper had said it was inconsiderate.

When cross-examined by Mr Groarke, Mr Blacow said that the man had been throwing sticks in for the dogs to fetch and that he had seen him do it “ten or a dozen times”.

“And he did that ten or a dozen times before Mr Cooper said anything?” asked Mr Groarke

“Yes,” said Mr Blacow.

Mr Blacow also said that he didn’t know whether or not Mr McDermott had to step over the rods in order to pass, nor was he sure if Mr McDermott was listening to music as he went.

He disagreed that Mr Cooper had become verbally abusive towards the accused, stating that his friend was “quite pleasant” when speaking with Mr McDermott.

The trial continues tomorrow morning before a jury of ten people and Judge Francis Comerford at Longford Circuit Court.

Two more fishermen give evidence against Longford man charged with threats to kill