Line drawn under art legal defence

A man previously jailed for damaging a €10m Monet painting has had second-thoughts about representing himself in an appeal for handling another artwork stolen from a stately home. Andrew Shannon, aged 54, was found guilty of handling a stolen Frederick Goodall piece at his home address at Willians Way, Ongar, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, on January 31, 2014.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the Goodall desert scene oil painting dating to 1892 was stolen from Bantry House, Seafield, Co Cork, in March 2006. Gardaí obtained a warrant to search Shannon’s home on an unrelated matter in 2014 and noticed various pieces of art hanging on his walls — one of which was the Goodall oil painting, valued at approximately €5,000.