TUAM TREE THIEF FOUND GUILTY

Date Published: 09-Mar-2011

A man has been found guilty of stealing trees from land owned by Libertas founder Declan Ganley.

John Keane of New Houses, Faugheen, Carrick on Suir, Co Tipperary has also been found guilty of stealing trees from another man in the same area.

The 33-year-old had denied both charges at Galway Circuit Criminal Court.

It took the jury of seven women and five men just forty five minutes to find John Keane guilty on both charges of theft.

He has been found guilty of stealing 8 ash tree stumps from Declan Ganley’s woodland at Moyne Park, Tuam on June 12th 2009.

He has also been found guilty of cutting down 14 ash trees and taking away stumps belonging to Thomas McHugh two days earlier.

During the trial, the court heard that Keane took the stumps back to Tipperary where he sold them to a local hurley maker for 800-euro.

He claimed he’d been given permission by Mr Ganley’s groundskeeper Ciaran Quinn to take them and that he mistakenly wandered onto Mr McHugh’s land.

Mr Quinn strongly denied this from the witness stand yesterday.

Both Mr Ganley and Mr McHugh were in court for the duration of the two-day trial.

After the guilty verdicts were delivered, Mr Ganley thanked the investigating Gardai before making a quick exit from the courtroom.

Keane has been remanded on continuing bail and will be sentenced at Galway Circuit Criminal Court on May 25th.