Cork tree surgeon given gun licence after passing drug tests

The court heard Rory McCarthy no longer used cannabis and wanted a firearm for 'vermin control'.

 A tree surgeon who wanted a gun licence to deal with an enormous problem with rabbits on his land has been successful in his appeal for a firearms certificate.

Judge Joanne Carroll granted the licence to Rory McCarthy, from Realog, Monastery Road, Rochestown, County Cork, and asked for his sworn evidence that he had not used any drugs other than alcohol in the past two years.

Mr McCarthy said that he had not used any since 2020. His solicitor, Killian McCarthy, said one of the grounds for the initial refusal of the licence was a conviction from 2019 for drug-driving, where he was driving while there was cannabis in his system. 

The solicitor said Judge John King, who heard the appeal in May, indicated that if the applicant took an immediate drug test, and then a second one at a random time chosen by gardaí, and both were clear then the firearm certificate would be granted.

There was evidence of those clear certs before Cork District Court on Friday and Judge Joanne Carroll required him to give sworn evidence of not having used drugs for the past two years.

The reason for the initial refusal was in the interests of public safety, on the basis that the applicant had a 2019 conviction for a drug-driving incident in 2018.

Killian McCarthy said Rory McCarthy no longer used cannabis and took rifle training in the hope of getting a firearm for “vermin control”.

The solicitor added: “He has an enormous problem with rabbits and other vermin.”

 Rory McCarthy gave evidence in his appeal against the cert refusal: “I am trying to get a market garden started at home. I have plants but rabbits are eating them. I have lost chickens to a fox. There are always foxes around. I want to get the show on the road with the garden.” 

He said he had been hoping to get a 17-calibre Tikka rifle that is designed for shooting vermin.

Referring to his drug driving conviction, he said: “At the time I was using marijuana regularly. I stopped using it in 2020 and I haven’t gone back on it since.”

Mr McCarthy accepted that it is a mind-altering drug but stressed that he was no longer using it.

Judge John King said he would consider the appeal against the refusal of the firearm cert on September 15. In the meantime, he directed the applicant to see his doctor for urinalysis on May 29, and again within 24 hours of a phone call from gardaí directing him to have a second test.

The judge said he would grant the firearm certificate in September subject to clear urinalysis in respect of those tests and subject to other standard conditions. He said if successful, a further random urinalysis would be required after the granting of the certificate.