Two unexecuted bench warrants had been issued for the arrest of a settled Traveller John Ward in the weeks before his killing in a Co Mayo farmyard in October 2004, it was revealed yesterday.
According to Senator Jim Higgins, an MEP for the North West, the warrants for Mr Ward's arrest were issued by Galway District Court on August 3rd, 2004, and September 13th, 2004, due to his non-appearance in court on a number of different criminal offences. Mr Ward, a father of 11 who lived at Carrowbrowne halting site on the outskirts of Galway city, died on October 24th, 2004, of gunshot wounds in a farmyard incident at Funshinagh, Cross, Co Mayo.
Pádraig Nally, the farmer who shot Ward, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison. Nally (61) claimed he was acting in self-defence when he killed Mr Ward and genuinely feared for his life.
Mr Higgins said: "This is a very serious matter. A bench warrant is an order from the court to the gardaí to immediately arrest the person and have him or her brought before the court.
"If the court order had been obeyed, Mr Ward would probably be alive today and Mr Nally would be at home on his farm in Co Mayo."