Uproar as court is abandoned

A JUDGE abandoned a court sitting today (Wednesday) as a large number of people in the body of the court loudly chanted 'off the bench' and roared at him.

The extraordinary courtroom scenes were witnessed at Castlebar District Court as Judge Kevin Kilraine presided.

In a bizarre spectacle, leading members of Integrity Ireland told Judge Kilraine he was 'in dishonour' and was being 'placed under citizens arrest'.

At 11.45 a.m., with his voice barely audible above the din, the judge said the court was being adjourned and he abandoned the session.

Earlier, Garda Superintendent Joe McKenna was asked by Integrity Ireland activists Stephen Manning and Colm Granahan to arrest the judge for alleged ‘contempt of court’.

However, Supt. McKenna did not respond to the activists’ demands and he ignored their efforts to converse with him.

The uproar which led to the court being adjourned for a fortnight came when Judge Kilraine dealt with two civil summons matters, one against the Mayo County Registrar, Fintan Murphy, and the second against Garda Sergeant Peter Hanley.

The summonses related to alleged incidents at a repossession court in Castlebar on May 25 last.

Today, Judge Kilraine refused an application by Mr. Manning for the reissuing of a summons against Sgt. Hanley. The reason for the refusal, the judge explained, was the fact that Mr. Manning had not put Sgt. Hanley on notice that the summons was being reissued.

Mr. Manning protested vigorously about the decision of the judge to refuse his application, claiming his rights had been denied on ‘a technicality’.

But Judge Kilraine replied that the sergeant had rights in the matter and the right to be notified.

“You claim ignorance of the law,” the judge told Mr. Manning, “even though you appear in court on a regular basis.”

The court heard that in the case of Mr. Murphy, the matter could not go ahead today due to an application to the High Court for a judicial review.

Colm Granahan asked Judge Kilraine to rule the High Court document out. He said the document had only been served on him on Tuesday night and it had not been served properly.

The court was adjourned by the judge amid a chorus of shouting from the protestors.

A larger than normal group of gardaí were present during the hearing but there were no incidents of a physical nature.