Judge cites OxyContin lawsuit as he adjourns West Cork Distillers fish kill case for two years

Judge James McNulty said West Cork Distillers would be 'unwise to re-offend' in the meantime

Inland Fisheries Ireland had told the court that West Cork Distillers was 'less than enthusiastic' about addressing the issue initially. File picture

A case against a West Cork distillery responsible for a significant river pollution event in July 2021 has been adjourned for two years under the Probation of Offenders Act.

At Skibbereen District Court, Judge James McNulty said the case against West Cork Distillers would come back before the court on April 9, 2024, and the company would be “unwise to re-offend” in the meantime.

West Cork Distillers had previously pleaded guilty to three offences relating to a discharge of liquids into the River Ilen in Skibbereen on July 21, 2021, which led to the deaths of approximately 2,000 fish, including salmon and sea trout, though they denied the discharge was responsible for the deaths of the fish. 

Judge McNulty had ordered the company to “make amends” for the fish kill by donating €1,000 each to the 26 tidy towns group across West Cork and West Cork Distillers had brought cheques to court to fulfil the obligation.

Defence barrister, Stephen O’Donoghue BL, told the court that West Cork Distillers had fully cooperated with the authorities offering an early guilty plea and immediately rectified the situation that led to the spillage. He said West Cork Distillers had spent some €126,000 on remedial works that included reducing the capacity of the fermenting tank by 15% and installing electronic diagnosis equipment.

In mitigation, Mr O’Donoghue said this was the first time anything like this had happened and that conditions on the day, with an air temperature of 27.6C, were very unusual. He said the company was an important local employer in West Cork and had agreed to make the significant contribution to the Tidy Towns groups in the area.

Judge McNulty said Inland Fisheries Ireland had a different view of how the company had behaved, however. He said it was highly unusual for the directors of a company to be prosecuted as was initially the case with West Cork Distillers and the reason this was felt necessary was because the company was “less than enthusiastic” about addressing the issue initially.

Addressing the West Cork Distiller’s director John O’Connell’s denial of responsibility for the fish kill, Judge McNulty said: “I’ve heard arguments like Mr O’Connell’s in court for decades. Scientists and engineers always assert that their product or process could not have caused the harm. 

It has been argued about with tobacco and Thalidomide and OxyContin, for decades this has been the way, no harm could come from our product. So you would understand the court’s scepticism.

He said West Cork Distillers' position on the fish kill “lies somewhere between denial and delusion” and the court “respectfully rejects that view”. Mr O’Donoghue said there was a big difference between a spill of water, sugar and yeast and cases like those the judge mentioned and he asked that the case be dismissed under the Probation Act.

Judge McNulty said it was optimistic for the company to seek to dismiss the case but the early guilty plea, remedial works and the donations at a value “far in excess” of a fine that the court could impose should all be taken into account.

Summing up, the judge said it would be best if the case was “adjourned to conclude another time,” and that he would “let the matter sit for a while”. He imposed a conditional discharge for two years under Section 1 (ii) of the Probation of Offenders Act with the case due to come back before the court on April 9, 2024. 

West Cork Distillers will be expected to “be of good behaviour” for the period up until the next hearing.