Row over cattle crossing road

A motorist was summonsed for dangerous driving following an altercation while cattle were crossing a road in Ballymackey.

Nenagh District Court recently heard that two men were herding around 250 cows across the road on the evening of April 2, 2024. A jeep and trailer driven by Martin Murphy of Kilkeary, Norwood, Nenagh, came to a stop on one side of the crossing herd.

Liam Minogue, who was standing on the other side, told the court that Mr Murphy shouted at him, revved the jeep’s engine and then drove through the cows at “high speed”, frightening the animals. Mr Minogue said the jeep drove over his foot, and that the bonnet struck him in the stomach.

Mr Murphy stopped on the other side of the crossing herd and there was a verbal altercation between the two men. Mr Minogue reported the incident to the gardaí that night. He also sought hospital treatment for his foot.

COWS PUT DOWN

Tom Slattery gave evidence that he was the owner of the cows and Mr Minogue was helping him to move them into another field. It could take 10 or 15 minutes for all the animals to cross the road, he said.

While he did not witness what happened, Mr Slattery said Mr Minogue showed him his bruised foot immediately afterwards and said Mr Murphy had collided with him. Mr Slattery added that he had to put down two of his cows after noticing the following day that they had dislocated hips as a result of stampeding.

An off-duty garda, Denis Ryan, was waiting on the other side of the crossing herd in his car with his children. He saw Mr Murphy driving through the herd but did not think he did so at high speed. Asked by Judge Elizabeth Healy whether he thought the manoeuvre was a safe one, Mr Ryan replied that he believed it was.

In his evidence, Mr Murphy said he had been living in Ballymackey for 11 years and was used to cattle crossing roads. There would often be a gap or break in the herd large enough for a motorist to drive through safely, and he regularly did this.

He said it could take 20 or 25 minutes for Mr Slattery’s herd to cross the road. On the occasion in question, he spotted a gap and drove through it safely.

While there had been a tape across the road on one side, it was only an inch off the ground, Mr Murphy said.

In his account of what happened, he denied shouting at Mr Minogue. Mr Murphy worked in the motor trade and said it was not possible to rev the engine of a modern vehicle in the manner described. He said Mr Minogue kicked the side of his jeep as he passed, and that he stopped to ask why this happened.

‘SETTLE UP’

The accused said Mr Minogue had subsequently come to his yard on a number of occasions looking for “a bag of cash to settle up”. This was denied by Mr Minogue.

Defence barrister Kenneth Kerins put it to the court that a 2.3-tonne jeep rolling over Mr Minogue’s foot would have caused a worse injury than the soft tissue damage he sustained. It was more likely that the complainant sustained the injury by kicking the jeep.

Mr Kerins said there was conflicting evidence in the prosecution case, but that the evidence of Mr Ryan implied that the accused had not driven dangerously.

Judge Healy agreed and said the absence of independent evidence left her unclear as to how Mr Minogue sustained his injury. The prosecution had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, the judge said. She found Mr Murphy not guilty and dismissed the summons against him.