A Coolmore-linked company is to plead guilty to four offences relating to hedgerow removal, restructuring
of land holdings and breaching a Department of Agriculture prohibition on works
on dates in 2022 and 2023, the circuit court in Clonmel heard on Wednesday.
Shem Drowne
Ltd, with a registered address at Rosegreen, Cashel, Co Tipperary, is being
prosecuted by the State for breaching environmental impact assessment
(agriculture) regulations which landowners must abide by.
The
breaches occurred on land at Ballygerald East, New Inn, Co Tipperary. The land
is owned by JP Magnier and Katherine Wachman, son and daughter of John Magnier
of Coolmore Stud, and held in trust for Shem Drowne Ltd. It claimed over
€70,000 in CAP farm payments in 2024.
Department
of Agriculture inspector Imogen McGuinness told judge Deirdre Browne
that the Department had been alerted by Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland to large-scale hedgerow removal on the Tipperary
farm in late September 2022.
The Department of Agriculture found that 1,150m of mature hedgerow were removed
Ms McGuinness submitted a file of photographs and played a
video in court that showed the level of hedgerow removal using diggers on the
farm.
Photos and a video of mature hedgerows being removed in Ballygerald East, Co Tipperary, were shown in court.
On inspection and later analysis, the Department of Agriculture found that 1,150m of mature hedgerow were removed, which exceeded
the 500m threshold permitted without environmental impact assessment (EIA)
screening.
The works, observed by Department of Agriculture inspectors,
also involved the removal of field boundaries which exceeded the threshold of
5ha permitted without EIA screening. The resulting restructured fields measured
18.5ha and 6.85ha, the court heard.
Stripped of vegetation
Two clay banks, stripped of vegetation by the digger, that
remained in place when the Department of Agriculture issued a prohibition notice
in 2022 were also removed in late 2023, thereby breaching the prohibition
order, the court heard.
Ms McGuinness told the court that the large and mature hedgerow
removed by the works would take “50 years to regenerate to a similar level of
biodiversity and flora and fauna interaction”, according to an expert witness
consulted by the Department of Agriculture.
The historical hedgerows could “date back as far as the 1700s or 1800s
The historical hedgerows could “date back as far as the
1700s or 1800s”, she noted.
Hedgerows such as those removed were vast habitats for flora
and fauna, provided food for birds and acted as bat corridors.
They are also a part of Irish culture, she noted: “We are
known for being a green country with a mosaic of hedgerows.”
The court heard that some 2,000m of whitethorn whips
(saplings) had been planted along a roadway in the farm following the removal
of the mature hedges.
However, Ms McGuinness said the new single-species hedge bore
little comparison to what had been removed.
“It’s not like-for-like when you look at the biomass quality
of both. It doesn’t compare at all to what was removed.
“There’s no food source, no shelter, nothing left for any
kind of wildlife to live in,” she said.
Coolmore farm manager
When Department inspector William Larkin first attended the
scene at Ballygerald East in October 2022, the digger driver said he was
working for Coolmore farm manager Joe Holohan and gave the inspector Holohan’s
phone number.
Mr Larkin called Mr Holohan, who said he was in charge of
the work at Ballygerald East, and Mr Larkin asked him to stop all works
immediately and told him that a prohibition notice would be issued to stop all
works.
Photos and video of mature hedgerows being removed in Ballygerald East, Co Tipperary, were shown in court.
Following this, Imogen McGuinness said she interviewed Joe
Holohan “under caution” and that he told her that the land at Ballygerald East
was owned and farmed by Shem Drowne Ltd, which was an entity under Coolmore
Stud and that he reported to the directors of that company.
The court was told that Tim Gleeson from Coolmore Stud
subsequently told the Department of Agriculture that the lands “were held in
trust for Shem Drowne” by the owners JP Magnier and Katherine Wachman. Shem Drowne
submitted a BISS application for the Ballygerald land in 2023.
Bank removal
The court heard that Mr Holohan, a year later, authorised
the removal of the two remaining clay banks when he was contacted while away in
the UK. This 2023 work was in breach of the 2022 prohibition order.
The Department of Agriculture wrote to Mr Holohan on 17
October 2023, care of Coolmore Stud, informing him that the works were in
contravention of the 4 October 2022 prohibition notice issued to him at the
same address and constituted an offence under the EIA regulations.
The court heard that Shem Drowne’s directors Conor Spain and
David Gleeson - and JP Magnier and Katherine Wachman - had been invited to interview
by the Department, but they “politely declined”. The Shem Drowne directors subsequently supplied
statements to the Department, which were not elaborated on in court on
Wednesday.
While the court heard that Shem Drowne is pleading guilty to
the offences, judge Deirdre Browne said she wanted more time to hear any mitigating
evidence and adjourned the case until 10 March 2026.
Under the
EU’s Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 7, farmers are
obliged to retain and maintain designated landscape features.
Field
boundaries such as hedgerows, stone walls and clay banks are also protected
under the environmental impact assessment (agriculture) regulations. Any
restructuring works on these features may require screening and approval by the
Department.
Screening
The EIA
regulation sets down the requirements for when screening and approval of
certain works on farms including the removal of hedgerows is required:
If
the length of field boundary to be removed is greater than 500m or the area of
lands to be restructured by removal of field boundaries is above
5ha.Shem Drowne
Ltd is a company registered with an address at Rosegreen, Cashel, Co Tipperary.
Its two directors are senior Coolmore executive David Gleeson, Brickendown,
Cashel, Co Tipperary, and Coolmore
accountant Conor Spain, Archerstown, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Shem Drowne
is just one of a web of companies in the Coolmore bloodstock and tillage empire.
Shem Drowne is 100% owned by another Coolmore company, Galzant Unlimited Company,
whose listed address is Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud. Glzant Unlimited, in turn, is 100% owned by Sulzano
Limited, also with its address listed as Castlehyde Stud.
In 2024,
Shem Drowne received over €77,000 in CAP funding, according to the Department
of Agriculture. Some €42,000 of that was BISS and over €30,000 in agri-environmental scheme payments.
A Coolmore-linked company is to plead guilty to four offences relating to hedgerow removal, restructuring
of land holdings and breaching a Department of Agriculture prohibition on works
on dates in 2022 and 2023, the circuit court in Clonmel heard on Wednesday.
Shem Drowne
Ltd, with a registered address at Rosegreen, Cashel, Co Tipperary, is being
prosecuted by the State for breaching environmental impact assessment
(agriculture) regulations which landowners must abide by.
The
breaches occurred on land at Ballygerald East, New Inn, Co Tipperary. The land
is owned by JP Magnier and Katherine Wachman, son and daughter of John Magnier
of Coolmore Stud, and held in trust for Shem Drowne Ltd. It claimed over
€70,000 in CAP farm payments in 2024.
Department
of Agriculture inspector Imogen McGuinness told judge Deirdre Browne
that the Department had been alerted by Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland to large-scale hedgerow removal on the Tipperary
farm in late September 2022.
The Department of Agriculture found that 1,150m of mature hedgerow were removed
Ms McGuinness submitted a file of photographs and played a
video in court that showed the level of hedgerow removal using diggers on the
farm.
Photos and a video of mature hedgerows being removed in Ballygerald East, Co Tipperary, were shown in court.
On inspection and later analysis, the Department of Agriculture found that 1,150m of mature hedgerow were removed, which exceeded
the 500m threshold permitted without environmental impact assessment (EIA)
screening.
The works, observed by Department of Agriculture inspectors,
also involved the removal of field boundaries which exceeded the threshold of
5ha permitted without EIA screening. The resulting restructured fields measured
18.5ha and 6.85ha, the court heard.
Stripped of vegetation
Two clay banks, stripped of vegetation by the digger, that
remained in place when the Department of Agriculture issued a prohibition notice
in 2022 were also removed in late 2023, thereby breaching the prohibition
order, the court heard.
Ms McGuinness told the court that the large and mature hedgerow
removed by the works would take “50 years to regenerate to a similar level of
biodiversity and flora and fauna interaction”, according to an expert witness
consulted by the Department of Agriculture.
The historical hedgerows could “date back as far as the 1700s or 1800s
The historical hedgerows could “date back as far as the
1700s or 1800s”, she noted.
Hedgerows such as those removed were vast habitats for flora
and fauna, provided food for birds and acted as bat corridors.
They are also a part of Irish culture, she noted: “We are
known for being a green country with a mosaic of hedgerows.”
The court heard that some 2,000m of whitethorn whips
(saplings) had been planted along a roadway in the farm following the removal
of the mature hedges.
However, Ms McGuinness said the new single-species hedge bore
little comparison to what had been removed.
“It’s not like-for-like when you look at the biomass quality
of both. It doesn’t compare at all to what was removed.
“There’s no food source, no shelter, nothing left for any
kind of wildlife to live in,” she said.
Coolmore farm manager
When Department inspector William Larkin first attended the
scene at Ballygerald East in October 2022, the digger driver said he was
working for Coolmore farm manager Joe Holohan and gave the inspector Holohan’s
phone number.
Mr Larkin called Mr Holohan, who said he was in charge of
the work at Ballygerald East, and Mr Larkin asked him to stop all works
immediately and told him that a prohibition notice would be issued to stop all
works.
Photos and video of mature hedgerows being removed in Ballygerald East, Co Tipperary, were shown in court.
Following this, Imogen McGuinness said she interviewed Joe
Holohan “under caution” and that he told her that the land at Ballygerald East
was owned and farmed by Shem Drowne Ltd, which was an entity under Coolmore
Stud and that he reported to the directors of that company.
The court was told that Tim Gleeson from Coolmore Stud
subsequently told the Department of Agriculture that the lands “were held in
trust for Shem Drowne” by the owners JP Magnier and Katherine Wachman. Shem Drowne
submitted a BISS application for the Ballygerald land in 2023.
Bank removal
The court heard that Mr Holohan, a year later, authorised
the removal of the two remaining clay banks when he was contacted while away in
the UK. This 2023 work was in breach of the 2022 prohibition order.
The Department of Agriculture wrote to Mr Holohan on 17
October 2023, care of Coolmore Stud, informing him that the works were in
contravention of the 4 October 2022 prohibition notice issued to him at the
same address and constituted an offence under the EIA regulations.
The court heard that Shem Drowne’s directors Conor Spain and
David Gleeson - and JP Magnier and Katherine Wachman - had been invited to interview
by the Department, but they “politely declined”. The Shem Drowne directors subsequently supplied
statements to the Department, which were not elaborated on in court on
Wednesday.
While the court heard that Shem Drowne is pleading guilty to
the offences, judge Deirdre Browne said she wanted more time to hear any mitigating
evidence and adjourned the case until 10 March 2026.
Under the
EU’s Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 7, farmers are
obliged to retain and maintain designated landscape features.
Field
boundaries such as hedgerows, stone walls and clay banks are also protected
under the environmental impact assessment (agriculture) regulations. Any
restructuring works on these features may require screening and approval by the
Department.
Screening
The EIA
regulation sets down the requirements for when screening and approval of
certain works on farms including the removal of hedgerows is required:
If
the length of field boundary to be removed is greater than 500m or the area of
lands to be restructured by removal of field boundaries is above
5ha.Shem Drowne
Ltd is a company registered with an address at Rosegreen, Cashel, Co Tipperary.
Its two directors are senior Coolmore executive David Gleeson, Brickendown,
Cashel, Co Tipperary, and Coolmore
accountant Conor Spain, Archerstown, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Shem Drowne
is just one of a web of companies in the Coolmore bloodstock and tillage empire.
Shem Drowne is 100% owned by another Coolmore company, Galzant Unlimited Company,
whose listed address is Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud. Glzant Unlimited, in turn, is 100% owned by Sulzano
Limited, also with its address listed as Castlehyde Stud.
In 2024,
Shem Drowne received over €77,000 in CAP funding, according to the Department
of Agriculture. Some €42,000 of that was BISS and over €30,000 in agri-environmental scheme payments.
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