Martin Mongan says he is a broken man since 13 of his horses were seized during a dawn raid on his halting site the week before last.
He says he has difficulty sleeping and worries constantly about the well-being of the animals, which are being kept in a pound 80 miles away.
Mr Mongan's problems began on Wednesday, July 14th, when a lorry arrived at his Clondalkin, Co Dublin, halting site at 6 a.m. For Mr Mongan, the lorry meant only one thing: his horses were being seized again under the Control of Horses Act, and this time it could be for good.
"The lorry worried me wildly. When I saw that I thought I'd never see the horses no more. I thought they'd be sent to England or to the slaughter house". Mr Mongan and his wife were so upset that they clung to the lorry in an attempt to prevent its departure. However, half-an-hour late the lorry was gone, along with 13 of their horses.
He was so worried about the fate of the animals that he immediately brought his caravan to the grounds of the headquarters of South Dublin County Council in Tallaght, where he parked in protest at the seizure. He left two days later after securing a High Court order restraining the council from disposing of the animals.
Mr Mongan told the court he had made strenuous efforts before the seizure to borrow money to buy land for the horses, but because he is on Social Welfare, he had been unable to raise the funds.
Despite his poor financial situation, he was told he would have to pay a £2,521 fine if he wanted his horses returned.
His reason for seeking an order from the court was that he was told later that if he didn't pay the fine by close of business on Friday, July 16th (two days after the seizure), his horses would be disposed of.
Mr Justice Kelly granted Mr Mongan leave to seek declarations that the continuing detention of the horses was unlawful. He also granted an injunction restraining the council from disposing of the horses until the case comes before the court again today.
Mr Mongan says he is "very happy with the judge. I was proud that the horses got the respect of the law. I was happy then when I landed back here that the horses were safe for the moment."
However, since then he has begun to worry about his horses again.
"Myself and the family keep going to see the horses. I cannot sleep all night time. The horses are still going through my head. Then I look out the window, and all I see is a few of the horses. It breaks my heart."
While the council is obliged to implement the Control of Horses Act, 1996, which requires that horses be housed in permanent stables of a high quality, Mr Mongan feels the law itself is unfair.
He says he realised even before the Control of Horses Act came into force it would severely curtail his way of life and he lobbied the Government and South Dublin County Council about the Act even before it finished its passage through the Oireachtas.
A source who has been involved in the detention of Mr Mongan's horses in the past says Mr Mongan had been warned about the horses grazing on council land and the danger of the horses straying on to the public road.
However, Mr Mongan says he just cannot raise enough funds to build the facilities required by the Control of Horses Act. He argues that local authorities should have been obliged to develop emergency accommodation facilities for horses affected by the Act. Travellers would then be able to rent a plot of land where they could keep their horses.
His dream is "a field site where we can take responsibility for our own lives and our horses".
" The horses and myself have gone through hell for the last few years. I'm sick and tired of it and the children are the same way.
"I don't keep the horses for money. I keep them because they're part of my culture. They're my life."
