The Roscommon eviction assault trial has heard evidence of calls and WhatsApp messages on an iPhone allegedly found in a lorry belonging to one of four men accused of taking part in the early morning attack.
At around 5am on December 16th, 2018, a group of approximately 30 armed men, some wearing balaclavas, arrived at a repossessed rural property at Falsk, just outside Strokestown and attacked four of the security guards present.
Patrick Sweeney (44) of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal; Martin O'Toole (58) of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris, Co Mayo; Paul Beirne (56) of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon; and David Lawlor (43) of Bailis Downs, Navan, Co Meath, have pleaded not guilty to 17 charges each at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Each man is separately charged with false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to four security personnel at Falsk on December 16, 2018. Each defendant is also charged with aggravated burglary, as well as four charges of arson concerning a car and three vans allegedly set alight.
The four men are also each charged with criminal damage to a door of the house, violent disorder, robbery of a wristwatch from security guard John Graham and, finally, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing or permitting an animal to be struck on the head.
Messages
On day 20 of the trial on Monday, Garda James McCann told Ann Rowland SC, prosecuting, that on December 19th, 2018, he used specialist software to extract the information from an iPhone handset. The jury has heard evidence that the handset was retrieved from a Volvo truck found parked at sheds owned by Mr Beirne at Ballyroddy, Co Roscommon.
He said that handset had the name “Paul's iPhone” associated with it. He said this would have been entered by someone while the handset would also come with a unique identifier.
Garda McCann said that Cellbrite software downloaded all WhatsApp messages contained on the handset and stated whether they were read or unread. The jury heard that on October 10th, 2018, the owner of the phone was added to two WhatsApp groups, one called “The West's Awake” and a second one called “Roscommon group”.
On December 10th, 2018, a number linked to the name Patricia Beirne sent a message to the Roscommon group saying: “Lots of help needed tomorrow morning...address is Strokestown... let us know if you can be there, and remember you could be next.”
The jury has heard that on December 11, bank and court officials, accompanied by private security personnel, took part in a repossession of the property which included the forcible eviction of the occupants, Anthony McGann and his adult siblings.
Security personnel
Gda McCann said that on December 12th, a message sent to the “Roscommon group” stated “should Sinn Féin be made aware that 20/25 UDA UDF are camped on a farm in Roscommon – might ruffle a few feathers”. The jury has heard that many of the security personnel, who were left to secure the property in the days after the eviction, were from Northern Ireland.
Gda McCann told the trial that a call log from the handset showed a log of all incoming and outgoing calls, their time, date and duration.
He said that on the evening of December 15th, a number of calls were made to and from numbers identified as Anthony McCann and Robert Brady.
At around 3.37am on December 16th, a short call was made to the handset from a certain number and at 3.58am an eight second call was made back to that number.
Six calls were made to and from the iPhone handset over the next hour. The phone call activity ceased between 5.03am and 8.52am, Gda McCann said.
From 8.52am there were a number of short phone calls between the handset and the Robert Brady number and the number associated with Patricia Beirne.
At around 2.30pm that day, an instant message from this Patricia Beirne number stated: “If anyone is contacted by journalist or media, the answer must be no comment, simple as that.”
Under cross-examination from Maria Brosnan BL, defending Mr Beirne, the witness said he did not carry out analysis to ascertain when any of the messages found on the handset were read.
Ms Brosnan told Gda McCann that her client denies reading or having knowledge of the WhatsApp messages. Gda McCann said he wasn't certain if the handset was turned on or off when he received it but he said he believed it was off.
He agreed that there was no evidence in the Cellbrite extraction report of any interaction by Mr Beirne in the WhatsApp groups and no evidence of him composing any messages.
