Cahill v Minister for Finance and Galway County Council

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1927
• Date: 01 January 1927
• Court: High Court (Irish Free State)

High Court.

Cahill v. Minister for Finance and Galway Co. Council

In the MATTER of an Application for Compensation for Criminal Injury to Property, and of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, and of the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923; PATRICK CAHILL

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR FINANCE and the GALWAY COUNTY COUNCIL, Respondents (1)

Malicious injury - Cattle driven off owner's lands - Left wandering on the roads - Depreciation in value - Claim for compensation - "Compensation for the actual damage done to property" - Exclusion of compensation for "loss consequential on such actual damage" - Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 (No. 15 of 1923), sect. 6.

Appeal from the Circuit Court.

Patrick Cahill, of Longford, Mountbellew, Co. Galway, claimed compensation under the Criminal Injuries Acts in respect of the malicious injury to his cattle and sheep, and served notice in the form prescribed by the Order made, on 9th July, 1923, by the Minister for Finance, pursuant to sect. 4, sub-sect. (1) of the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 (No. 15 of 1923). This notice was in the form of a statutory declaration, in the first schedule to which Cahill gave

details of his "property damaged," as follows:— "48 cattle, at £3 each, £144; 107 ewes, at 10s. each, £53 10s. 0d.; 3 ewes, at £4 10s. each, £13 10s. 0d.; 115 lambs, at 10s. each, £57 10s. 0d.; and 5 lambs, at £2 each, £10. Total, £278 10s. 0d." And in the second schedule, under the heading "narrative of the circumstances in which the loss was sustained," he stated:—"Stock were driven off the lands of Longford on the 20th April, 1922. There was no place to put them, and they continued wandering on the road in a starved condition for over a week. The persons who drove out the stock put their own stock on the lands. Three ewes and four lambs subsequently died, and the other stock were sold at a great loss by reason of their starved condition."

The claim was heard by Judge Wyse Power at Galway Circuit Court, on July 24th, 1925. Cahill's evidence was to the following effect:—He lived at Longford, Mountbellew, where he had a large farm, on which he had a number of cattle and sheep. His mother lived at Caltra, about five miles away, and on April 20th, 1922, he was living with her. His cattle and sheep were on that date "driven" from his farm at Longford to Caltra. He put them back again on his farm at Longford, and they were "driven" again the same night. He was threatened about them: "he was not to put them back, or he would suffer for it." After the second "drive" he did not put them back for a fortnight or more. He then collected them, with the help of the National Army, which was then just formed. In the meantime, the parties who had driven out his cattle put their own stock on the lands. He stated that the cattle "were not too badly driven," but as they were a fortnight or more wandering about the roads, and as the weather was very had, and they had nothing to eat but the tops of rushes, they deteriorated in value. Three ewes and four lambs died a couple of weeks afterwards, and he sold the other...