A 78-YEAR-OLD farmer has been given a three-year suspended sentence for recklessly discharging a shotgun which hit his son in the leg.
Judge Yvonne Murphy handed down four three-year sentences – which she suspended for five years – to Patrick Groome of Garr, Rhode, Offaly, who admitted he had recklessly discharged a double-barrel shotgun, and to having that gun and two others without a licence.
Tullamore Circuit Court heard how the pensioner and father-of-eight got into a dispute with his sons on June 19th, 2010, about where to leave silage bales.
His sons favoured bringing them to a gravel yard, while Mr Groome wanted to leave them in a field near a river.
He drove to the field where they were loading the bales, but as his son Greg leaned across him to retrieve the shotgun from the passenger seat, it discharged during the struggle, shooting him in the upper thigh.
Mr Groome initially denied shooting his son, and said it was shocking that his son would accuse his father over this.
He blamed his other son, Declan, saying he would not trust him because Declan had had an affair with Greg’s partner.
He later accepted he had himself accidentally shot Greg.
Mr Groome, who has cancer, has been away from the family home as part of his bail conditions, and this had made life difficult because his wife Eileen has been ill for a long time and recently had her leg amputated.
Paul Gunning said his client loved his six sons and two daughters, and recent psychiatric assistance meant he was taking medication and was more stable.
There were no fears for his future if he continued to take his medication and had no access to guns, he said.
The judge noted Greg Groome’s injury could have been much more significant, but said Patrick Groome was a caring man in the way he looked after his wife.
She bound Patrick Groome to the peace for five years and ordered that he allow gardaí into his home at least twice a year for the next three years to check for guns.