SHOCK waves reverberated throughout the beef industry this week after the conviction on Tuesday of Frank Mallon on charges relating to illegal growth promoters in cattle.

Mallon, who lives at Balrath House, outside Kells, Co Meath, had fought the charges, dating back to April 1993, and challenged the strict new legislation all the way to the Supreme Court last May.

He is a respected name in the industry and his appearance before a district court as a defendant on such charges has had a stunning effect.

He is, after all, a man at the top of his trade, spoken about in the same breath as Larry Goodman and Denis Brosnan. He owns Liffey Meats in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, Ireland's most efficient meat factory.

He paid £800,000 for a house on St Stephen's Green, Dublin, two years ago and uses it only occasionally at weekends.

His home outside Kells stands on 500 acres, and, when visited by the Department of Agriculture's search team in May 1993, there were 621 bullocks on the land.

Last Tuesday he sat pale faced with six other defendants who pleaded guilty to 104 different charges, brought against them by the Department's special team, for using illegal cattle growth promoters.

Mallon sat with his family and legal team while other cases were dealt with by Judge John P. Brophy in the dowdy surroundings of the temporary courthouse in Navan, an upstairs room over a community hall.

Behind him sat another prominent farming figure, Dennis Feighery, one of Ireland's best known beef farmers, a specialist who fattens animals for sale on one of his farms at Ellickstown Co Meath, and who lives at Castleknock, Co Dublin. He pleaded guilty to 39 of the 78 charges against him.

Before the judge were 289 summonses in relation to the seven defendants; he had set aside four days for hearing the cases.

In the body of the court sat a uniformed garda keeping a watch on the exhibits in boxes and plastic bags; drugs, we were told later worth over £84,000.

The first case involved Michael Keogan, Ticroghan, Clonard, Co Meath. He pleaded guilty to three of four charges of having illegal substances on his 60 acre farm.

The court was told he had an aged mother and a wife and child. He had never been in trouble before March 25th last when the drugs were found. He was fined £3,000 and given 30 days to pay or a month in prison in default of payment.

The next defendant was Bernard Kearney (80), of Gibbstown, Co Meath. The charges dated back to November 1991. Clenbuterol was found on his farm, with implanting equipment.

He was another smallholder of 30 acres with no previous convictions. His guilty plea and his age, said the judge, kept him out of prison but he imposed fines of £4,000, or £1,000 on each of the charges.

The next defendant had the same surname and was described in court as "a bad farmer". John Kearney, Allenstown, Kells, Co Meath, married with two children, was now out of farming.

His cattle were impounded after the Department team swooped on his farm in November 1994 and some of the cattle died. He walked out of the court with an £11,000 fine and 30 days to pay.

THE next defendant was also a grandfather who had never been in trouble before May 1994. Then the Department's team found growth promoters and a very strong antibiotic. James O'Connell, Rosemount, Ballycoolin, Co Dublin, also pleaded guilty.

Judge Brophy was particularly interested in the substance, chloraphenicol, found at his farm in Balfestown, Kilbride, Co Meath. He was told by a Department veterinarian, Mr Michael Flaherty, that eating meat containing the residue of this drug could endanger human health.

O'Connell, who had never been in trouble before but did not cooperate with the team, was fined £8,000.

As the case against Feighery proceeded, the extent of his farming operations was revealed. The court was told there were 1,000 animals being fattened on the farm when the team raided it and his Castleknock home in February 1994.

He owned two other substantial farms. Feighery, a man in his 50s, was arrested by the Garda and taken to Navan Garda station where he "gave no meaningful statement".

Again, he was stated to have no previous convictions and only 20 of the 1,000 animals had tested positive to illegal hormones. He was fined £39,000.

During the evidence the Department team made much of the fact that it had found a lot of items on the Ellickstown farm. These were stated to be diaries and documents relating to their investigation.

Judge Brophy said when he imposed the fines: "He is not a small man. Only he is pleading guilty he would be seeing the inside of Mountjoy.

He did not make any such comments as he imposed the fines on Mallon who had pleaded guilty to possessing cocktails of hormones which the court had been told earlier increased the value of animals from 10p to 25p per lb.

Mallon, the judge was told, had been "very surprised and in some shock" when the team had found the drugs on his farm on May 18th 1993.

However, Mallon did not comply with an order not to move the animals from the farm and in August told the team that seven animals which should not have left the farm had been slaughtered.

He also failed to give information on the source of implanting and other equipment, as required by law, to the team. His guilty plea to 25 charges cost him £1,000 each.

Judge Brophy beard he was a substantial employer at his plant which supplies meat to Europe, Britain and North Africa.

He had not been in trouble previously.

But perhaps the most important case of the day was dealt with before Mallon's.

In the dock was Padraig Eugene O'Connell, Tullymeadow, Drumree, Co Meath, who pleaded guilty to 14 charges out of 26 against him dating back to March 1992. He was fined £14,000.

One of the team told the court O'Connell had accepted responsibility for the drugs worth £84,000 seized at his home, which were enough to treat 8,431 animals. He made a detailed statement and was said not to be an importer of drugs.

However, he was "a middleman", a link between the importer and user, the kind of man, the judge said in sentencing him to a six month suspended sentence, who made it possible for the drug importers to operate.

He was then the manager of a farm. Now he operated a transport company and had been, a team member said, "forthcoming".

O'Connell (37), married with two children, was the only defendant to get a prison sentence. He had also not been in trouble before.

But there were indications of more dramatic developments to come when it was stated that "a more major person will be before the courts in relation to this as a result of his co operation".

Judge Brophy and his colleagues will be dealing with a further 120 cases in the next few months, freed now of the restraints of Supreme Court challenges.