Members of two feuding traveller families whose plans to hold 11 fist fights were stopped by gardai, who feared guns and other weapons would be used, appeared before Galway District Court yesterday. They were remanded on continuing bail on condition that they stay away from each other.
Four men, two from both the Ward and McDonagh families in Galway city, appeared in court charged with harassing each other on various dates between May 13th and June 3rd last. The four first appeared in court last week after being arrested in Clifden. At that court Supt Michael Curley said gardai feared lives would be lost if 11 prearranged fist fights went ahead. He had information that weapons, including guns, were to be used in the ongoing feud over supremacy between the two families. He said travellers had even come from England to take part in the fist fights.
Judge John Garavan, who last week described the fist fights as "barbaric", set bail of £1,000 in each case, on condition that both families stay away from each other and that the fist fights would not go ahead anywhere in Ireland. He repeated these conditions at yesterday's court and remanded all four on bail to appear before the court again on July 8th.