A LEADING Shell to Sea campaigner lost his appeal at the Circuit Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar yesterday against a conviction for assaulting a garda at Glengad beach, Co Mayo, where gas from the Corrib field will be brought ashore.
Niall Harnett, Glengad, Pollathomas, but a native of Co Clare, was convicted and sentenced to four months in jail by Judge Gerard Haughton at a special sitting of Belmullet District Court late last year for assaulting Garda Hugh Egan on September 13th, 2008.
After the appeal, Judge Raymond Groarke found the accused guilty of assault, and will decide on the sentence today.
Another prominent Shell to Sea activist, Terence Conway, from Inver, Blacksod, also lost an appeal against a conviction for a breach of public order at the offices of Shell EP Ireland at Belmullet Industrial Estate on September 17th, 2008. Judge Groarke also delayed the sentencing of Mr Conway until today.
The judge delayed sentencing in a third Shell to Sea case yesterday. Patrick O’Donnell (52), a fisherman from Porturlin Shore, Blacksod, was unsuccessful in his appeal against a conviction for a breach of public order at Glengad beach on September 13th, 2008.