THREATS were made to the judge presiding over the Tuam travellers riot trial in phone calls to his family home on Tuesday night. He described them as "grossly offensive and scurrilous", and vowed that he would not be intimidated.
"It is interesting," said Judge John Neilan in Tuam District Court yesterday, "that in nearly - 15 years as a judge, only twice my ex directory phone has been accessed, and on those two occasions the trials were dealing with the travelling community".
The calls were made at half hourly intervals to his home he said, and he had asked gardai to protect him, his property and his family. He believed those responsible may have used a mobile phone to get his number.
Mobile phones were "lethal in the extreme", he said, and he believed one was used to track down journalist Veronica Guerin when she left Naas District Court.
"If these mobile phones were not available, perhaps Ms Guerin would be alive today."
As the trial went into its sixth day, defending solicitor Mr Gerard Gannon made a call to "cease the circus and performance by the McDonagh family", who he said had no regard for the truth. His call was echoed by the rest of the defence.
The remarks followed Judge Neilan's announcement the previous day that he would bind four of the prosecution witnesses to the peace for telling "absolute utter lies" unless they could show just cause for their statements.
Four McDonagh brothers, John, Willie, David and Michael, have denied involvement in an attack on two members of the Mongan family, and on their home, on a Clondalkin halting site last April. It emerged that they have already pleaded guilty to charges relating to the incident in an ongoing trial in Kilmainham court.
Apologies to the court made by the four men yesterday and pleas by their solicitor, Mr George Bruen, that they told lies because they were afraid they would be retried for the Dublin incident were rejected by Judge Neilan. He told them he was discounting all of their evidence relating to the two day riot, which began in a Tuam cemetery last summer when one of them was hit with a knuckleduster.
He said he did not intend to abort the trial and, having discounted their testimony, could start the trial afresh.
The four men, and other members of their family, have said they were ambushed at their home on the Weir road when over 100 people gathered outside armed with slash hooks, iron bars and hatchets.
Most of the 35 defendants in the case have the surname Ward and have addresses in Tuam, Athenry and Galway. They face charges including common assault, criminal damage, offences against the Public Order Act and being in possession of dangerous weapons on June 2nd and 3rd last.
The trial continues today.