A south Galway farmer told a neighbouring farmer “I will get you” after accusing him of stealing his missing dog as part of long-running ill feeling between the two, a court has heard.

At Gort District Court, Judge Adrian Harris has found Brian Gill (44) of Cahermore, Kinvara, Co Galway, guilty of engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting words against Brian Murphy, with intent to provoke a breach of the peace in two separate incidents on 21 May 2025 and 2 February of this year.

Judge Harris did not convict Mr Gill of either offence and instead imposed the Probation Act for one year and told Mr Gill that if the Probation Service recommends that he complete an anger management course, he must do so.

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Judge Harris said that is a context to the offences and there is clearly ill feeling between Mr Gill and Mr Murphy going back some time.

He said that Mr Gill should not engage in behaviour that amounts to these offences.

Mr Gill told the court that his dog went missing on 19 May 2025 "and I received a phone call on 1 July to say that the dog is 35km away".

He said: “That dog did not walk 35 kilometres.”

As part of his evidence concerning the 21 May offence at Caherawoneen South, Kinvara, Brian Murphy told the court that Mr Gill said to him "you are only a c**t, you stole me dog and I will get you” when the two met as they were both driving at around 9pm on a narrow road.

Mr Murphy told the court: "I didn’t know anything about the dog.”

Mr Murphy said that he didn’t say a word to Mr Gill.

Background

Counsel for Mr Gill Martin Durack BL said that there was agrarian background to the incident “where there have been disputes in the past regarding fences, etc” concerning the two men.

In cross-examination, Mr Durack put it to Mr Murphy “there is animosity between you and Mr Gill? Ye are not on each other’s Christmas card list?”.

In reply, Mr Murphy said: “Every time I am on the road he causes trouble.”

In evidence, Mr Gill denied threatening Mr Murphy and that he only asked him where his dog was and in response he said that Mr Murphy called him a fool.

Mr Gill said that in reply he told Mr Murphy “you are the only fool who sells top soil from his farm”.

Asked did he at any time threaten Brian Murphy, Mr Gill said that he didn’t.

Mr Gill said that he was told by three different people that the dog was spotted in the back of Mr Murphy’s yard but he declined to identify any of the three.

Suspicions

Mr Gill said that Mr Murphy “had a sarcastic smile on his face as he usually does and that raised my suspicions”.

Mr Gill said: “He knew something about the dog - I don’t think he had the dog because the dog wouldn’t have gone to him.”

He added that his dog "is a one-person dog - it is just me he wants and that’s it".

Mr Gill said that there was “a sentimental attachment to the dog and there was a bit of history to him and I would like to leave at that”.

Under cross-examination from Insp Daragh Browne, Mr Gill said that he was angry because this has been going on for the past 10 years with Mr Murphy.

The Kinvara farmer told Judge Harris “this is the 15th time I have been in court over this fella - directly or indirectly”.

Insp Browne told the court that to this day Mr Gill “is still very frustrated and still believes to this day that someone removed the dog”.

Mr Durack said that while Mr Gill’s language may have been brusque, “but there was no threat and no intention to cause a breach of the peace”.