THE judge in the graveyard riot case before Tuam District Court, indicated yesterday that he may impose travel restrictions on any of the 34 defendants who are found guilty.
Members of the extended Ward traveller family are charged in connection with violent incidents about the time of a funeral last June.
Judge John Neilan told the court as far as he was concerned he had the right to impose such sentences and it would be up to other courts to decide if constitutional rights were being impinged on. The judge also signalled his intention to impose similar restrictions on prosecution witnesses found guilty of perjury during the case.
The judge said on the 13th day of the trial he would require cash bonds of up to £5,000 from the main architects of the violence. He was also considering imposing 25 year driving bans and requiring some of those who enter into bonds to keep the peace to restrict their movements to within a one mile radius of their homes.
He added that anyone who was restricted in such a way would have to give their local Garda superintendent 24 hours notice and get his permission if they wanted to travel outside this one mile radius.
Judge Neilan said it was time for the court to do something to try and stop the savagery. "If we allow the situation to go unchallenged today, what will be the scenario in Tuam in 25 years if those involved in such incidents are allowed to continue as they please?"
Defence solicitors argued that it would be unsafe to record any convictions in this case because of the unreliability of much of the evidence.
The defence put particular emphasis on the fact that all the accused were members of the extended Ward traveller family and many of the prosecution witnesses were from the rival McDonagh faction.
They pointed out that relations between the two families were very strained and claimed much of the evidence was designed as a way of retaliation against the Ward family.
It was also pointed out that evidence presented by four of the witnesses had already been dismissed by the judge, and these four witnesses, all members of the McDonagh family, were facing perjury charges as a result.
The trial continues today.