Court restrains two men from picketing judge’s house

Two men who refused to continue undertakings not to picket a judge’s home or his wife’s business premises have been restrained from doing so by order of the High Court.

Joe Doocey and Colm Granahan were told by Mr Justice Paul Gilligan that they would be removed by gardaí from the High Court when they continued trying to make what the judge said were “groundless” allegations designed to “scandalise and undermine” the rule of law and institutions of the State, including the judiciary, Oireachtas and Garda Síochána.

Both left the courtroom as a garda approached them and with Mr Doocey making various remarks, including alleging that Mr Justice Gilligan was “not fit to be a judge”.

Mr Granahan told the judge he could “do whatever you like”, adding, he, Mr Granahan, would not be party to any criminal activity.

The restraint order applies pending a full hearing of proceedings by District Court Judge James Faughnan and his wife Mary McMahon following calls on social media by the Anti-Corruption Taskforce to stage a picket on October 22nd outside Ms McMahon’s optician’s premises in Carrick-on-Shannon. It also called for pickets outside the couple’s home and their children’s school.

Threatened protest

The group claims Judge Faughnan and other District Court judges are corrupt. The threatened protest was initially sparked when the judge jailed a man for three months on a public order charge.

It is claimed Mr Doocey had, in a YouTube video, said the judge had jailed an innocent man and had committed a war crime. In another statement published on the internet, it is alleged Mr Doocey said Judge Faughnan was a “Fine Gael-appointed Nazi”.

Judge Faughnan and his wife previously obtained an interim injunction against Mr Doocey, Knocksbarrett, Ballina, and against Mr Granahan, Castlereagh, Killala, both Co Mayo, preventing them carrying out the picketing threat.

Both men later undertook before the High Court not to picket pending the case returning to court.

On Thursday, Mr Justice Gilligan said affidavits from both men made clear they were not prepared to continue their undertakings and they had repeated that refusal in court. He would not allow them to open those affidavits in which both stated they would “do what is right and not what is legal” and “not give any corrupt authority figures a haven or sanction for their criminality”.

Appeal procedures

Mr Justice Gilligan said that, in this democratic State, there were mechanisms and processes available to anyone who had evidence of corruption or criminality but the defendants had not produced anything to back up the claims made in their affidavits.

There were also appeal and judicial review procedures available to anyone who believed they had been wrongly jailed.

Mr Doocey, who alleged he had been assaulted by gardaí at the instigation of Judge Faughnan, said the “whole of Europe has condemned the judiciary” here and the case was politicised.

Mr Justice Gilligan said he was not going to put up with any allegations.

After saying Mr Justice Gilligan was not fit to be a judge, Mr Doocey left the court. Mr Granahan also left shortly after Mr Justice Gilligan said he would not allow him to call witnesses to back up his claim that no one can sue stemming from a criminal act.

Mr Justice Gilligan said the issue before the court only concerned the injunction sought by Judge Faughnan and his wife.

Under superior court rules, he was striking out the defendants’ affidavits because they were an attempt to undermine the rule of law and officers of the State, he said.

The two defendants had not denied in their affidavits the making of threats and allegations against Judge Faughnan and his wife, he said.

The court orders apply to all with knowledge of them, including two other men who previously undertook not to picket. One of those, Stephen Manning, of Integrity Ireland, was earlier asked to leave the court after insisting on trying to address the judge after being repeatedly told the application before the court only involved Mr Doocey and Mr Granahan.