Three Cork men fined for illegally fishing with nets

One of the men was handed a suspended sentence and all three were fined for the offences

The court was told that 57 live coarse fish in a bucket were returned to the water. File photo

Three Cork men have appeared before Macroom District Court each facing three charges in relation to illegal fishing at the Gearagh near Macroom, Co. Cork, in March.

The three men, Jamie O’Driscoll of 2 Ardmore Heights, Knocknaheeny, Cork; Kevin Quilligan of 41 Mount Nebo Avenue, Gurranabraher, Cork and Luke Lyons of 22 Dunmore Gardens, Knocknaheeny, Cork, each pleaded guilty to the charges.

The men were charged with using a net to catch fish, possession of such a net and entering upon a fishery for the purpose of taking fish.

The court was told that two fisheries officers were on patrol at 10.50am on March 16, 2025, at the ESB coarse fishery at the Gearagh near Macroom. They observed three men with a net attempting to catch fish. The officers observed the men for a few minutes and were satisfied that they were taking fish illegally.

The men were questioned and the net was seized. The court was told that the men co-operated with the officers and were “no trouble to deal with”. Also recovered were 57 live coarse fish in a bucket which were returned to the water.

The court was told it was likely the men were taking the fish to be sold as bait. The court heard the scale of the operation indicated that the men were catching fish for “more than personal use”, and such live bait were used for catching trout, pike and other large fish.

Defence solicitor Jack Purcell said that the fish were returned to the river so there was no loss to the fishery. He said the three men had pleaded guilty and were fully co-operative. 

The court was told that O’Driscoll had three previous convictions for similar offences while Quilligan and Lyons had no previous convictions.

Judge Joanne Carroll said fish stocks were dwindling and the size of the net and the three men present indicated “a large-scale operation”. She said O’Driscoll’s guilty plea and co-operation was in his favour but he also had previous convictions for similar offences that had to be taken into account.

Jamie O’Driscoll was sentenced to two months in prison suspended for 12 months for using the net. Possession of the net was taken into consideration and he was fined €100 with three months to pay for entering the fishery. He was also ordered to pay €250 in legal costs to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). 

Kevin Quilligan and Luke Lyons were both convicted on all three charges and fined a total of €650 each and also ordered to pay €100 each in costs to the IFI with five months to pay.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme