Court archive
Court reports mentioning Jonesborough, Armagh
2024-02-12 · Louth
Joseph Hillen, 29, was taken back into custody following an appeal regarding the activation of his suspended sentence. Hillen was originally convicted by a ten-to-two majority jury of the manslaughter of Martin Mulligan in 2018. He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with the final year suspended. The State appealed this sentence as unduly lenient, and in November 2019, the Court of Appeal increased the term to nine years, with the final 12 months suspended. Hillen was released from Mountjoy prison on March 30, 2022, after serving five years and 11 months. Two weeks later, on April 14, 2023, he allegedly drove a car at his mother, assaulted her, and committed other offences. He pleaded guilty at Lisburn Magistrates Court to assaulting his mother, criminal damage, dangerous driving, assaulting a police officer, possession of cocaine, driving while unfit, aggravated theft, and driving without a licence or insurance. In July 2023, he received an eight-month fully suspended sentence. The State subsequently applied to activate the suspended portion of his manslaughter sentence under Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act. On January 29, 2024, Ms Justice Creedon activated nine months of the 12-month suspended sentence, resulting in Hillen being taken back into custody.
2023-08-04 · Cork
In early summer 2023, Noel Long received a call from Detective Inspector Eamonn Brady about new evidence in the 1981 murder of Nora Sheehan. Long declined to meet with Gardaí or discuss the evidence, stating he wanted no involvement. The article recounts the 1981 discovery of Sheehan's body in Shippool Woods, describing the scene, the victim's injuries, and the forensic work that linked fibres and paint from Long's 1981 Opel Kadett to the victim. It details the 2008 DNA review that produced a partial male profile from a semen sample, later matched to DNA on a beanie hat taken from Long in 2021. The article also notes the defence's challenge to the reliability of the Low Copy Number DNA method and the State Pathologist's statement that Sheehan's cause of death was unascertained.
2023-07-21 · Cork
The cold‑case murder trial of Noel Long, accused of killing 54‑year‑old Nora Sheehan in 1981, was adjourned to Monday because a juror fell ill. Judge Paul McDermott informed the remaining eleven jurors that the case would continue with a reduced jury. Long, 74, lives in Passage West, Cork, and has pleaded not guilty. The trial has focused on DNA evidence: UK forensic scientist Dr Jonathan Paul Whitaker presented a DNA profile from semen recovered from Sheehan's body, matched to material from Long's belongings, with a one‑in‑20,000 chance of a different source. The prosecution highlighted bruising and spermatozoa found in Sheehan's vagina, and the post‑mortem was conducted by Dr Robert Dermot Coakley in 1981. The hearing will resume on Monday with the same jury composition.
2017-03-24 · Dublin
In the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Joseph Hillen, aged 23, received a suspended sentence of two and a half years for handling stolen property. Hillen admitted to transporting a €9,000 Atlas compressor, stolen from an Irish Rail depot near the border, from Northern Ireland to Dublin. He claimed he was paid €100 to drive the machine and that he feared for his safety, so he did not name the individuals he met. The compressor was found in a white van at a Topaz petrol station in Clondalkin on 29 April 2016, where Hillen and another man were arrested. Hillen, who has 12 prior convictions, pleaded guilty and acknowledged his wrongdoing. The judge noted his cooperation and early guilty plea, and the court imposed the suspended sentence. The co‑accused is expected to stand trial later. The compressor belonged to Laois Hire, which had rented it to Irish Rail a few weeks earlier.