A circuit court judge has told a dairy farmer that he could be sent to jail on Thursday for allegedly breaching his bail terms.
Judge Kenneth Connolly told Seán Coughlan of Cum, Laherdane, Ballina, Co Mayo, on Tuesday 24 March that he wants to be presented with the last five sets of accounts for the company Coughlan Farming Limited, a P35 annual return, stamp duty paid on a notice of motion and two affidavits and a knackery receipt on Thursday morning 26 March.
Coughlan and his company Coughlan Farming Limited face charges of animal neglect and failing to ensure animals were kept in a manner that would not threaten their health in late 2022.
Some 38 charges of animal cruelty relate to Coughlan and his dairy farm at Laragan, Elphin, Co Roscommon, while 35 relate to the company.
Mr Coughlan is accused of failing to respond to Department of Agriculture correspondence issued in January 2026. He is pleading not guilty to the charges.
The judge said on Tuesday that he can’t grant Mr Coughlan bail “knowing you’re going to keep doing what you’re doing”.
Mr Coughlan, who was representing himself, told the court earlier in day: “I don’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do.”
He claimed that he was facing prison time as a result of actions of the Department of Agriculture.
Mr Coughlan alleged in court that calving records were removed from his farm by Department officials in 2021.
During Tuesday’s court hearing, Mr Casey was asked by the prosecution if he had any ongoing concerns about animals on the farm.
In response, Department of Agriculture superintending veterinary officer James Casey said that there is “no evidence whatsoever to demonstrate that those records were taken”.
He said that the Department officer who carried out a visit to Mr Coughlan’s farm in Laragan, Elphin, in March 2021 said that he did not take any records.
Pile of dead calves
During Tuesday’s court hearing, Mr Casey was asked by the prosecution if he had any ongoing concerns about animals on the farm in Elphin. He outlined to the court that there was a Department of Agriculture inspection on the farm in question two weeks ago on 9 March 2026.
Mr Casey said that there were a number of animals on the day that he had concerns for.
Reading out a letter that was sent to Mr Coughlan on 11 March from the Department following the inspection, Mr Casey outlined that a pile of 15 dead calves were found on the farm. The calves had no ear tags and one was “severely scavenged”, he stated.
One cow was in “obvious discomfort”, Mr Casey said, noting that she was lame on two legs, another cow was down in a paddock and a third was very lame on her right hind.
Fifteen dead calves is a significant number in anyone’s book
A number of calves were observed with scour, another calf was found to have two crusty eyes and another was lame with possible joint ill, he said. Other calves looked “below par”, he added.
A carcase that was located in a field had also been scavenged and “could have been dead for up to a week”, Mr Casey said.
“Fifteen dead calves is a significant number in anyone’s book,” the Department vet added, stating that calf mortality has been a serious issue on the farm.
Mr Coughlan replied to the letter on 14 March stating that the Department “illegally and unlawfully inspected" the herd on Monday 9 March.
In further correspondence, Mr Coughlan said that the letter of 9 March was “construed as an impingement on my rights” and claimed there was a “cover-up” around numerous other issues pertaining to the farm in Elphin. He alleged that Department officials were trying to “bully and harass me to prevent me from earning an income”.
‘Neglect’
Commenting following the evidence provided by Mr Casey, judge Connolly said that he had given Mr Coughlan “way more latitude than he deserved”.
“It perturbs me that at a recent inspection that you found such neglect,” he said.
Commenting following the evidence provided by Mr Casey, judge Connolly said that he had given Mr Coughlan “way more latitude that he deserved”.
“One of the considerations for bail is ongoing conduct and what that ongoing conduct is. The difficulty for me is I can put him in jail and that’s a sledgehammer approach.
He can’t divide himself into three
“What happens if he goes to jail today or Thursday, we come back then and then we have a herd of up to 1,400 animals – what happens to them, does the Department go in and take them out in interests of welfare?” he said.
“Are there any conditions that you would consider adequate to supervise Mr Coughlan’s farming enterprise between now and June, the date of the trial, to protect the welfare of the animals? Because this is a very serious case and I’m not going to stand by and see animals suffer welfare issues, as is alleged, at this time,” he said to Mr Casey.
Mr Casey responded by saying Mr Coughlan had three herds, one in Mayo, one in Clare and one in Roscommon.
“He can’t divide himself into three – he just needs to provide the staff necessary in Roscommon and it will be better,” he said.
The judge dismissed a number of applications made by Mr Coughlan to the court, including an application for the judge himself to recuse himself from the case.
“I have zero bias towards you at all – you’re just a name on my list, I don’t invest myself to have any bias against anybody.
“I would like to be able to leave here today with you on continuing bail,” he said.
He also dismissed an application from the accused for an apology to be printed in a number of news outlets, including the Irish Farmers Journal, “vindicating the good name of the accused” in regard to the conduct of the press.
The judge said there was "nothing untoward about press conduct" on the case.
He approved an application from Mr Coughlan for a “McKenzie friend” to be appointed. This is a layperson who can provide moral support for litigants, take notes and quietly give advice on any aspect of the conduct of the case. Arno Gaultier Swords was appointed as the accused’s McKenzie friend.
The case was adjourned until Thursday.
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A circuit court judge has told a dairy farmer that he could be sent to jail on Thursday for allegedly breaching his bail terms.
Judge Kenneth Connolly told Seán Coughlan of Cum, Laherdane, Ballina, Co Mayo, on Tuesday 24 March that he wants to be presented with the last five sets of accounts for the company Coughlan Farming Limited, a P35 annual return, stamp duty paid on a notice of motion and two affidavits and a knackery receipt on Thursday morning 26 March.
Coughlan and his company Coughlan Farming Limited face charges of animal neglect and failing to ensure animals were kept in a manner that would not threaten their health in late 2022.
Some 38 charges of animal cruelty relate to Coughlan and his dairy farm at Laragan, Elphin, Co Roscommon, while 35 relate to the company.
Mr Coughlan is accused of failing to respond to Department of Agriculture correspondence issued in January 2026. He is pleading not guilty to the charges.
The judge said on Tuesday that he can’t grant Mr Coughlan bail “knowing you’re going to keep doing what you’re doing”.
Mr Coughlan, who was representing himself, told the court earlier in day: “I don’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do.”
He claimed that he was facing prison time as a result of actions of the Department of Agriculture.
Mr Coughlan alleged in court that calving records were removed from his farm by Department officials in 2021.
During Tuesday’s court hearing, Mr Casey was asked by the prosecution if he had any ongoing concerns about animals on the farm.
In response, Department of Agriculture superintending veterinary officer James Casey said that there is “no evidence whatsoever to demonstrate that those records were taken”.
He said that the Department officer who carried out a visit to Mr Coughlan’s farm in Laragan, Elphin, in March 2021 said that he did not take any records.
Pile of dead calves
During Tuesday’s court hearing, Mr Casey was asked by the prosecution if he had any ongoing concerns about animals on the farm in Elphin. He outlined to the court that there was a Department of Agriculture inspection on the farm in question two weeks ago on 9 March 2026.
Mr Casey said that there were a number of animals on the day that he had concerns for.
Reading out a letter that was sent to Mr Coughlan on 11 March from the Department following the inspection, Mr Casey outlined that a pile of 15 dead calves were found on the farm. The calves had no ear tags and one was “severely scavenged”, he stated.
One cow was in “obvious discomfort”, Mr Casey said, noting that she was lame on two legs, another cow was down in a paddock and a third was very lame on her right hind.
Fifteen dead calves is a significant number in anyone’s book
A number of calves were observed with scour, another calf was found to have two crusty eyes and another was lame with possible joint ill, he said. Other calves looked “below par”, he added.
A carcase that was located in a field had also been scavenged and “could have been dead for up to a week”, Mr Casey said.
“Fifteen dead calves is a significant number in anyone’s book,” the Department vet added, stating that calf mortality has been a serious issue on the farm.
Mr Coughlan replied to the letter on 14 March stating that the Department “illegally and unlawfully inspected" the herd on Monday 9 March.
In further correspondence, Mr Coughlan said that the letter of 9 March was “construed as an impingement on my rights” and claimed there was a “cover-up” around numerous other issues pertaining to the farm in Elphin. He alleged that Department officials were trying to “bully and harass me to prevent me from earning an income”.
‘Neglect’
Commenting following the evidence provided by Mr Casey, judge Connolly said that he had given Mr Coughlan “way more latitude than he deserved”.
“It perturbs me that at a recent inspection that you found such neglect,” he said.
Commenting following the evidence provided by Mr Casey, judge Connolly said that he had given Mr Coughlan “way more latitude that he deserved”.
“One of the considerations for bail is ongoing conduct and what that ongoing conduct is. The difficulty for me is I can put him in jail and that’s a sledgehammer approach.
He can’t divide himself into three
“What happens if he goes to jail today or Thursday, we come back then and then we have a herd of up to 1,400 animals – what happens to them, does the Department go in and take them out in interests of welfare?” he said.
“Are there any conditions that you would consider adequate to supervise Mr Coughlan’s farming enterprise between now and June, the date of the trial, to protect the welfare of the animals? Because this is a very serious case and I’m not going to stand by and see animals suffer welfare issues, as is alleged, at this time,” he said to Mr Casey.
Mr Casey responded by saying Mr Coughlan had three herds, one in Mayo, one in Clare and one in Roscommon.
“He can’t divide himself into three – he just needs to provide the staff necessary in Roscommon and it will be better,” he said.
The judge dismissed a number of applications made by Mr Coughlan to the court, including an application for the judge himself to recuse himself from the case.
“I have zero bias towards you at all – you’re just a name on my list, I don’t invest myself to have any bias against anybody.
“I would like to be able to leave here today with you on continuing bail,” he said.
He also dismissed an application from the accused for an apology to be printed in a number of news outlets, including the Irish Farmers Journal, “vindicating the good name of the accused” in regard to the conduct of the press.
The judge said there was "nothing untoward about press conduct" on the case.
He approved an application from Mr Coughlan for a “McKenzie friend” to be appointed. This is a layperson who can provide moral support for litigants, take notes and quietly give advice on any aspect of the conduct of the case. Arno Gaultier Swords was appointed as the accused’s McKenzie friend.
The case was adjourned until Thursday.
Read more
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Up to 500 calves died on Roscommon farm since 2023 court hears
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