Traveller groups have called today's decision by the Court of Criminal Appeal to quash a manslaughter conviction against Co Mayo farmer Pádraig Nally over the shooting dead of a man at his farm in 2004 "regrettable" and "concerning".
Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) co-ordinator Damien Peelo said he hoped that the retrial would uphold the original verdict. According to Mr Peelo tensions between the settled community and Travellers had increased since the original trial.
Michael Collins, Pavee Point
"We hope that the media will take a more measured approach in its reporting of the retrial and avoid the stereotyping of Travellers which typified much of the reporting in the original case," Mr Peelo said.
Pavee Point assistant director Martin Collins also said that the original trial had brought out "disturbing responses" from some quarters of the media as well as "inflammatory comments" by prominent politicians.
Mr Collins said: "The prospect of once again dragging this case through the courts and media is not a welcome one for either the Ward family or the Traveller community generally.
"I regret that the Ward family will once again have to relive this horrendous experience and again hear the terrible details of how their loved one was killed.
"In effect the Traveller community and Traveller organisations felt we were on trial."
Meanwhile, the local Fine Gael TD Michael Ring said there were "no winners" in the court case.
Speaking on the RTE's News at One Mr Ring said: "Pádraig Nally is an innocent man again until proven guilty".
Mr Ring admitted that there is tension between the Traveller and the settled community but that it was the same for both societies.
Mr Ring said "I suppose what this boils down - and its not down to the travelling community - is that people in rural Ireland are very vulnerable, particularly elderly people."
"I'm not accusing any one sector of society....but there has to be considerations given to the settled community as well because they feel that the law is not there to protect them." he said.
Mr Nally (62) won his appeal overturning a six-year sentence for the manslaughter of John "Frog" Ward (42), a member of the Travelling community and a father of 11.
He was sentenced last November after a jury found the farmer, of Funshinaugh, Cross, Co Mayo, not guilty of the murder of Mr Ward but guilty of his manslaughter. He had been shot twice and beaten with a stick.
The second and fatal shot was fired after Mr Ward, from Carrowbrowne halting site on the outskirts of Galway city, had left the farmyard on October 14th, 2004, and was limping down the road.
During his trial, Mr Nally told the Central Criminal Court that he never intended to kill Mr Ward. Today however, the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered a retrial saying that the jury in the original case "were denied the opportunity to return a verdict of not guilty".
