Walking stick used as a weapon during violent disorder incident in Longford town

A father and son who were involved in a violent disorder incident on the Main Street of Longford in broad daylight and caused severe distress to a nearby motorist and brought traffic to a standstill have been convicted.

A judge has requested a probation report in relation to a third co-accused man Thomas Sweeney (24) of 24 Lana Aoibhinn, St Michael's Road who will be sentenced in January.

The aforementioned defendant and Christy Myers (58) and John Myers (24), both of 1 Grange Crescent, Mullingar all pleaded guilty to affray on March 28, 2023 when they appeared at the recent sitting of Longford Circuit Court.

Leading Garda Satchwell's evidence, State prosecutor Shane Geraghty BL said that at 4.25pm the officer was on foot patrol when he heard shouting coming from the direction of the Longford Arms Hotel and he saw people running from the area.

Gda Satchwell stated he saw two men getting into a blue Ford Fiesta and as he got closer he noticed Ford Fiesta had collided into the rear of another car which was stationery.

State prosecutor Shane Geraghty BL said that investigating Garda Colm Satchwell obtained three different sources of CCTV from two nearby stationary cameras and one from a Bus Éireann bus.

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Mr Geraghty said John Myers' daughter Chantelle Nevin had business in the district court on the day, however, 'words were exchanged with others', which had led to some tension.

Gda Satchwell stated that when John Myers was interviewed he claimed that men had been in a disagreement with his daughter and that he felt they were "bullying his daughter".

The court heard that as Ms Nevin emerged from court and attempted to get into the back driver's side of the vehicle two men approached the car and tried to get into John and Christy Myers.

"John Myers is the driver's side of the vehicle and is in a confrontation and a fight with Mr J," Gda Satchwell said while narrating the footage.

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Meanwhile, Christy Myers can be seen on the ground in an altercation with Thomas Sweeney who is on top of him and the latter can be seen punching him "in excess of 10 times".

Gda Satchwell stated that John Myers can then be observed taking a walking stick from the vehicle and striking Sweeney up to six times with the makeshift weapon on the body.

During this period traffic is stopped on the road as the violent disorder continues for two-to-three minutes as dozens of pedestrians, motorists, and bus passengers watch the scenes.

Gda Satchwell said John and Christy Myers can be seen getting into their vehicle immediately after the attack while Sweeney lies injured on the side of the road.

Gardaí arrived at that stage and prevented the men from leaving.

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Gda Satchwell spoke to Christy Myers at the scene and he stated that Thomas Sweeney had been trying to drag him out of the car and John Myers claimed that Sweeney had been 'attacking' his son.

Sweeney sustained injuries that included a cut to his left eye and bruising to his left arm and Gardaí offered to call an ambulance for him, but he declined and he said he did not need one.

Gda Satchwell said the owner of the stationary car was very shaken after witnessing the incident, and although there was no damage to her car after the Fiesta rear-ended it, she required treatment for shock.

Gda Satchwell also played the CCTV footage from a Dublin to Sligo Bus Éireann bus, which was parked in traffic directly behind the Ford Fiesta when the incident occurred.

John Myers was arrested and questioned by Gardaí and he made full admissions.

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"I should not have used the stick, I'm sorry for using the stick. I was only defending my son, how do I know, they could have had yokes in their possession too," he admitted to officers.

Asked if he believed his actions were violent he replied, "Yeah, it was half of the violence, they followed my daughter and I was only protecting my daughter, she ran away in fear. Yeah the stick was too far but they were going to beat her."

Gardaí also asked him if he thought his actions were excessive and John Myers admitted, "A bit over the top yeah."

Gda Satchwell said the vehicle was seized and brought to Longford Garda Station where it was searched and in the back of the car Gda Cathal Slattery found two sticks, a walking stick and a wooden stick or shovel handle".

Gda Satchwell said the defendants were fully cooperative during the Garda investigation and there had been no issues or incidents involving the parties since the incident.

John Myers has 16 previous convictions, while Christy Myers has one previous conviction and Sweeney has 14 previous convictions.

Judge Kenneth Connolly asked Gda Satchwell if he felt the incident was feud-related and the officer replied that he believed it was not.

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Barrister for John and Christy Myers, Niall Flynn BL said the court could take comfort that there had been no further incidents in the past 18-months.

"There is still and there is no deflecting from it, Christy Myers, to a degree, believes he was acting in self defence for a certain portion of the interaction and then the issue of proportionality obviously comes into play when Mr Sweeney was on the ground," he added.

Judge Connolly noted that Sweeney had been scheduled to meet with Probation Services on September 12, October 3 and October 15, but he failed to attend on each occasion.

John and Christy Myers did attend but their probation reports were less than complimentary and placed them at risk of high and moderate levels of reoffending respectively.

Delivering his sentence, Judge Connolly noted that Gda Satchwell believed if Sweeney and 'Mr J' had not approached the Myers vehicle they most likely would have driven home without incident.

"An aggravating factor is the level of violence, the use of the walking stick as a weapon and the fact this happened in broad daylight without any concern for members of the public," he added.

Barrister for Sweeney, Patrick O'Sullivan BL, who appealed for leniency, pointed out it was his client's first time in the circuit court and he asked if the defendant could be considered for community service.

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Judge Connolly directed Christy and John Myers to collect €1,000 within 12-months as compensation for the owner of the stationary car.

He sentenced Christy and John Myers to 18-months and 24 months of imprisonment respectively with both terms suspended for five years on strict terms and conditions.

Judge Connolly requested a probation report be compiled on Sweeney and he adjourned the case until January 14, 2025.
"Unfortunately given his record I cannot guarantee it won't be a custodial sentence," he added.

The court heard that a suspended sentence has also been reactivated in relation to Sweeney after he was handed a suspended six month prison sentence at Castlebar District Court on June 15, 2022.