Defendant grew cannabis in Rathvilly for chronic sleep condition
Cannabis plant
A RATHVILLY man who grew cannabis plants in tents inside a shed at his home has pleaded guilty to possession and possession with intent to supply, Carlow District Court heard last week.
Joseph Kerrigan (46) appeared before Judge Geraldine Carthy, where the court was told that gardaí executed a search warrant under the at his home in Williamstown, Rathvilly on the evening of 3 April 2024.
On searching the property, gardaí discovered two tents in an outhouse containing a large number of cannabis plants – nine mature plants, eight of which were growing in hydroponic buckets and one in soil, along with an additional 20 juvenile plants. No other drugs were seized during the search.
The nine mature plants, confirmed to be cannabis, were estimated by gardaí to have a street value of €7,200.
Mr Kerrigan, who has no previous convictions, entered guilty pleas to both charges under the , section 3 (possession) and section 15 (possession for sale or supply).
Solicitor Joe Farrell told the court his client suffers from a chronic sleep condition, producing documentation from his medical team in support. Mr Farrell said his client had made inquiries about being prescribed cannabis as a sleep aid but was informed it was only available for certain conditions, and his was not among them.
The solicitor described Mr Kerrigan as “quite an amateur”, saying it was “his first time to try this” and that the plants “were not in good condition”, with the quality of the cultivated items being low. He also queried the valuation placed on the plants by gardaí, saying the €7,200 figure was based on a “block valuation of every plant considered to be mature”, adding: “This isn’t a 7.5k operation from my experience of other things in court.”
Judge Carthy directed that a probation report be prepared in respect of Mr Kerrigan and adjourned the matter to May, when she said she would finalise the case.
