In April 1921, Joseph Doherty, a farmer from Lenan, was found guilty for possessing firearms "not under effective military control." During a search at the home of Doherty's mother, a single-barreled breech-loading shotgun was found concealed in a corn stack. Doherty made a statement indicating that he knew nothing about the gun, which "must have been planted in the corn stack by someone who wished to get him into trouble." During the trial, Doherty refused to recognize the court. The judge remarked that the accused's refusal to recognize the court had only one interpretation, that he belonged to an illegal society.