A CAB raid led to an uncovering of a stable of horror involving shocking neglect of horses and ponies.
Geoffrey Lyons, 54, from Macetown, Tara, Co. Meath, received a two‑year custodial sentence and a ten‑year ban on keeping horses after pleading guilty to multiple counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, as well as a separate excise‑duty evasion offence.
The case unfolded after a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) search in March 2023 uncovered over €700,000 worth of illicit tobacco at Lyons’s home.
As part of the CAB raid, searches by the the Garda Mounted Unit revealed severe equine neglect across two locations.
At the first site, a field at Clogheen Stud at Garristown, Co. Meath, five ponies were discovered in poor and emaciated state. No shelter or water has been provided for the animals. One of the ponies had to be euthanised, the four remaining were transferred to the care of My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue charity.
The second property at Danestown Stud, Co. Meath revealed a total of eight-five horse spread over a yard and a barn. Conditions for the horses were poor with no access to shelter, adequate food or an outdoor area. In one incident, a foaling mare was in such distress that both she and her stillborn foal had to be euthanised. Several animals were seized, while others could not be saved.
Judge’s Comments
In court, Judge John Martin described the conditions as “harrowing” and “shocking,” rejecting the idea that the Covid period alone explained the scale of neglect. While Lyons’s defence highlighted his long‑standing interest in horses, deteriorating health, and alcoholism, the judge noted that the animals had been neglected “for some period of time” and not solely during Lyons’s hospitalisation.
Mr Lyons, who brought €44,000 to court to support the charity caring for the surviving horses, expressed deep shame and handed in a letter of apology to the court.
Judge Martin dealt with the two charges together, and he imposed a three‑and‑a‑half‑year prison sentence, suspending the final 18 months, and formally barred Mr Lyons from owning or caring for horses for a decade starting from the date of sentencing.
Visit/Donate:My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue
https://www.mylovelyhorserescue.com/
Read:
Crimnimal Assets Bureau
https://www.cab.ie/
To report any animal welfare concerns:
NSPCA’s National Animal Cruelty Helpline on 0818 515 515
Report online at: https://ispca.ie/report-cruelty
E:helpline@ispca.ie.
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If you have a tip for an animal welfare issue, an animal news article, a press release, or just want to just reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you. John Tierney, Animal News Ireland/Editor