A JURY has returned a verdict of not guilty at the trial of a west Clare farmer who had been accused of using a digger to cause €50,000 worth of damage to his mother’s home, reports Ronan Judge.
At Ennis Circuit Court today, it took the jury 36 minutes to find John Morrissey (53) not guilty of a single count of criminal damage.
The Cooraclare native embraced his wife and thanked his solicitor Stiofán Fitzpatrick after the verdict was read out.
Discharging the jury, Judge Brian O’Callaghan said, “This has been a sad case in many respects.”
Mr Morrissey, a married father of six, with an address at Clonreddan, Cooraclare, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal damage.