Mayo farmer received two bounced cheques after selling sheep to Roscommon man

A Roscommon man appeared in court where he pleaded guilty to theft after writing two bounced cheques for €13,455

By Anton McNulty Published 4th Jun 2026, 19:30 BST Updated 5th Jun 2026, 10:30 BST A Mayo farmer received bounced cheques after selling sheep | Local Library A Roscommon man appeared in court where he pleaded guilty to theft after writing two bounced cheques for €13,455 Sign up to our Mayo Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Mayo Live within your account.

A ROSCOMMON man was ordered to pay €1,000 in compensation to a Mayo farmer after he gave him two cheques totalling €13,455 which bounced following the sale of 65 sheep.

Earl Lawless (52) of Castlesampson, Bealnamulla, Athlone, Co Roscommon appeared before Castlebar District Court where he pleaded guilty to theft after writing two cheques to buy sheep which later bounced.

The court heard that on April 25, 2025, Belcarra farmer Michael McWalter advertised sheep for sale on the Done Deal website and the defendant and his son agreed to buy 65 of them at €207 per sheep.

Court presenter, Sergeant Fiona Farrell explained that Mr Lawless offered to pay by cheque and wrote two AIB cheques - one for €11,799 and the other for €1,656 - payable to Shirley McWalter, daughter of Mr McWalter.

On April 29, 2025, the McWalter's received notification from AIB that the cheques were being returned as there was not enough money in the account and the incident was reported to the gardaí who prepared a file for the DPP.

Ms Martina Moran, solicitor for Mr Lawless explained that her client believed there was enough money in the account to cover the cheques but there was an issue with the Department of Agriculture and as a result he did not receive his payment.

She said that he was very apologetic to everyone involved and has since fully reimbursed Mr McWalter and asked Judge Ciarán Liddy to be as lenient as possible. She added that her client had hoped to reimburse Mr McWalter sooner but it was not possible to do that.

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Judge Liddy commented that Mr McWalter had been deeply inconvenienced and Ms Moran agreed saying that Mr Lawless fully accepted that this was the case.

Judge Liddy stated that if Mr Lawless paid a further €1,000 to the injured party as a token gesture in appreciation of the inconvenience he caused, he would strike out the charge. The matter was adjourned until September 16 for the payment to be made.