Thomas Murphy was living in fear. His brother had been beaten up by a gang of local thugs.
A shotgun had been fired into his sitting room. Thomas himself had started carrying a shotgun around with him in case of attack.
Last July, he received an eight-year sentence for the manslaughter of Jason Tolan, whom he had shot in the leg with the shotgun, and who had subsequently bled to death. Thomas Murphy pleaded in mitigation that he had acted out of fear.
In the 2001 case of William Duffy, the court heard that he was in terror of Paul Rooney, who had arrived at his house demanding methadone. Believing his family to be threatened, Duffy stabbed and killed Rooney. He too was found guilty of manslaughter and also received an eight-year sentence.
No public protests followed these cases. There was no evidence of public sympathy for the perpetrators, who were described as "killers" by the tabloid press. Because of the element of fear and the absence of premeditation, the verdicts were for manslaughter rather than murder. But serious crimes had nonetheless been committed and justice had been done.
So why then is it that Mayo farmer Pádraig Nally's six-year sentence for the manslaughter of John Ward has attracted such public outrage? What is it about his case, as opposed to the examples above, that has mobilised people to protest? The one critical difference is that the victim in Mayo was a Traveller, whereas the perpetrator is a settled person.
A protest march scheduled for next Sunday in support of Pádraig Nally has been backed by local elements within both the GAA and the IFA, two of the great social forces in rural Ireland.
While the GAA head office has distanced itself from the issue, its Mayo secretary, Seán Feeney, has publicly supported the protest against the Nally sentence. In the same interview, he referred to what he described as the occupation of a local playing field by a group of Travellers, encamped there for the past four weeks.
In terms of the IFA, it should be remembered that it also expressed support, in the form of a "freedom rally", for another farmer who took the law into his own hands. This was the case of Sligo man Andy McSharry, jailed last year for threatening a 63-year-old hillwalker trying to cross his land.
All this week there has been a torrent of frenzy on the airwaves, much of it focusing on criminality and the Travelling community. Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins, on RTÉ's Liveline last Tuesday, recited a list of crimes which he said were perpetrated by Travellers over a number of years. The protest on Sunday was to pressurise the Travelling community into getting its act together, he said.
There has been no mention of the fact that at the trial of Pádraig Nally, a local Garda sergeant testified that crime in the area, including burglary, was in decline. In 2003, there were five break-ins and 28 reported thefts. The following year, thefts had dropped to a mere 11.
Nonetheless, it is clear that some politicians, principally from Fine Gael, appear to perceive an electoral advantage in stirring up local fears of crime. This on its own is reprehensible and manipulative. However, when combined with the particular social divisions involved in the Pádraig Nally case, it comes dangerously close to an incitement to hatred.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has shown somewhat more restraint by declining to comment on the circumstances of the Nally case. He is confining himself to bringing forth a Private Members' Bill to the Dáil strengthening the legal rights of those who seek to defend their own property against attack.
At present, one is permitted to use reasonable force to protect oneself, although the decision as to what constitutes "reasonable" is ultimately up to the courts. The thrust of the law is to encourage people to avoid confrontation and violence rather than to court it.
On balance, there is no evidence that the law in this area is in need of reform, or has served us ill. Given the existence of well over 200,000 licensed firearms, mainly shotguns, around the country, it would seem only sensible that the law should heavily deter anyone tempted to use violence to defend their property.
Mr Justice Paul Carney, the judge who sentenced Pádraig Nally, also presided over the trial of Thomas Murphy, mentioned above. His words during the Murphy case could equally be applied to that of the Mayo farmer: "It is the walking around with a shotgun that has led him to this crime and he has got to take responsibility for that." An inquest jury sitting this week had highly pertinent remarks to make about firearms and their regulation. This was the tragic case of Carlow farmer Michael Kehoe, who shot and killed James Healy over a land dispute, and then committed suicide.
The jury's call for urgent reform of the licensing controls for shotguns could not be more timely. It is a recipe for disaster that people driven half crazy by fear of intruders, whether real or imagined, should have such ready access to loaded shotguns.