83% say Nally should not have been jailed

A MASSIVE 83% of those who responded to an Irish Examiner poll believe that Mayo farmer Padraig Nally should not have been jailed for killing Traveller John 'Frog' Ward.

Out of 496 people who responded to the phone/ text poll, a total of 414 said the farmer, who was sentenced to six years, should not have been sent to prison. Only 75 agreed with the sentence handed down by the Central Criminal Court.

Interest in the case has provoked major debate and last Tuesday, an RTÉ Prime Time programme on the issue recorded its second highest viewing figures ever when 674,000 people tuned in.

Meanwhile, a rally that was scheduled to be held this weekend in support of the 61-year-old farmer has been called off. Michael Biggins, one of the organisers of the rally that was to be held in Athlone, said it had been decided to defer it to a later date.

Mr Biggins, who is also chairman of the Mayo county executive of the Irish Farmers' Association, said one of the main reasons was because of a perception that the rally was anti-Traveller which, he stressed, was something that had never been the organisers' intention.

Mr Biggins said the organisers would be meeting Justice Minister Michael McDowell and wanted to allow him time to address their concerns about citizens' rights to protect themselves and their property. Public safety, he said, was another factor in the postponement as was their desire to allow Mr Nally to have an appeal of his sentence processed.

Mr Nally received a six-year sentence from Mr Justice Paul Carney for the killing of 42-year-old John Ward. The killing took place on the Mayo man's farm in October 2004.

The farmer shot Mr Ward twice and beat him 20 times with a stick. The second and fatal shot was fired after Mr Ward had left Nally's farmyard. Nally claimed in his defence that he believed his life was under threat and he was in the grip of fear.