McGrath cleared of all charges against him

FIANNA FÁIL TD Mattie McGrath last night was cleared of any criminal involvement in a row in his home village more than two years ago when a jury found him not guilty of all three charges against him.

The jury of seven men and five women took three hours and 14 minutes to reach majority verdicts in relation to Mr McGrath and five co-accused, including his son, after a trial lasting more than three weeks at Clonmel Circuit Court.

The South Tipperary TD was accused of assaulting a local youth, causing him harm, as well as violent disorder and a breach of the peace. Not guilty verdicts were eventually returned just before 6.30pm.

Earlier yesterday, before the end of the trial, the case against Mattie McGrath was described as a “sham” and a “show trial” by a defence barrister. During closing arguments, Colman Cody BL said the State’s case was “riddled with inconsistencies and lies”.

The claim put forward by the prosecution that the TD had “procured an assault” and directed a beating was “ludicrous,” said Mr Cody, who represented co-defendant Christopher Cullinan.

Mr McGrath, 50, of Garrencasey, Newcastle, pleaded not guilty to charges which resulted from incidents on the night of August 13/14, 2006. The five co-accused denied violent disorder and assault causing harm.

The other four accused, along with Mr McGrath and his son, were Anthony O’Dwyer of Garrencasey, Newcastle; James Lonergan of 28 Liam Lynch Terrace, Newcastle; Christopher Cullinan of 7 Liam Lynch Terrace, Newcastle; and Jason Aherne of 11 Liam Lynch Terrace, Newcastle. Christopher Cullinan is also accused of assaulting Eric Reith.

Mr Cody said there was as much evidence heard during the case to support a charge of assault against Timothy Cleere “and yet it wasn’t done, and it’s legitimate for you to consider why this wasn’t done,” he told the jury.

“This is a skewed prosecution and a biased prosecution,” he said, referring to the exclusion of seven witness statements from the Book of Evidence. “I don’t think I’ve ever come across a case where so much significant evidence was blatantly excluded by the State.”

Concluding, he said: “This trial is a sham. It’s a show trial, for whatever reason. Given the way the evidence is presented, I can’t come to any other conclusion.”

Brian O’Shea BL, arguing for Edmund McGrath, said his client was actually the victim of an assault, whereby Timothy Cleere hit him three times with a bottle. He also referred to statements not included by the State in its case. “For some reason, someone in the DPP’s office has decided to take those statements and set them aside. I don’t know what’s going on, but that, in my view, skews the Book of Evidence we were given, and skews the authority of the trial.”