Court archive
Court reports mentioning Rathvilly, Carlow
2026-07-17 · Carlow
A Dublin teenager who was the driver of a car involved in a spate of burglaries in Carlow almost two years ago has been jailed for two years. The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal damage at a housing estate in Killerig, Tullow, and other incidents. He has a number of previous convictions, including many related to stealing and driving stolen cars. The court heard that the teenager had a difficult upbringing, with his father dying when he was a toddler and his mother being abusive. Judge Mary Morrissey acknowledged his difficult background and noted that he had pleaded guilty, which saved the victims from having to give evidence. She set concurrent sentences totalling 36 months and suspended the final 12 months on strict conditions, including engaging with the Probation Service and mental health services. The judge wished him the best of luck and acknowledged his potential.
2026-03-05 · Carlow
An 18-year-old who was a juvenile at the time pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal damage after acting as the driver in a series of incidents in Carlow. Judge Mary Morrissey adjourned the case to next July for sentence.
2023-07-21 · Dublin
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 21 July 2023, 45‑year‑old Wesley McGill pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cannabis for sale or supply. The offence stemmed from a mistaken search warrant that was actually for a stolen electric bike. McGill opened the door, led Gardaí to two cardboard boxes containing 2,800 g of cannabis valued at €256,000, which he claimed he was holding for someone else, and a small amount of cocaine worth €81. He had borrowed €5,000 from moneylenders to renovate his house and could not repay the debt. McGill, who began using cannabis at 16, expressed remorse and provided character references, including one from his son. Judge Martina Baxter sentenced him to five years' imprisonment, suspending the final two years on strict conditions, and ordered 12 months' probation supervision post‑release.
2022-11-04 · Carlow
Carl Finnegan, 34, of Rathvilly Park, Finglas, was charged with endangerment, production of a knife and driving without insurance after he deliberately crashed his mother's car into a vehicle carrying a man and his son in Fitzwilliam Square North on 4 April 2020. Finnegan claimed he was looking for a person who had insulted his daughter about her disability and mistakenly believed the occupants were that person. He admitted to holding a knife, described as a large butcher knife or machete, and to driving at high speed before ramming the other car. No injuries were reported. The court noted Finnegan's 13 prior convictions, mainly for road offences, and the premeditated nature of the act. Judge Melanie Greally accepted his guilty plea, remorse and anger‑management steps, and imposed a 20‑month sentence, fully suspended, warning that a future weapons or violence charge would be treated more harshly. The incident was described as a case of mistaken identity by the prosecution.
2022-10-10 · Dublin
Michael Lawrence, 55, filmed his daughter Jessica Maughan, 28, viciously beating his mother‑in‑law Mary Maughan, 65, as she left a doctor's appointment, and also recorded his other daughter Marie Stokes, 31, attacking Mary's daughter Rosie while Rosie waited in her car. The video was shared on social media and viewed 3,500 times. The court heard that the victims, though physically recovered, suffered psychological harm from the humiliation. Lawrence and the two daughters pleaded guilty to assault causing harm. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced each to a two‑year suspended sentence, ordered them to pay €1,000 to the Garda, and remanded Stokes and Lawrence in custody pending sentence while allowing Jessica Maughan to remain on bail. The judge described the assaults as disgraceful and vicious, noting the humiliation was aggravated by the footage's online presence. The court did not impose any custodial term on the father or the daughters.
2022-06-20 · Dublin
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, Lloyd Saunders, aged 33, was convicted of assault causing harm to his former girlfriend, Kelly Evans, after a prolonged attack that began with strangulation. Saunders pleaded not guilty to additional charges of false imprisonment and threatening to kill, which the jury did not convict on. Evans testified that Saunders repeatedly slapped her, strangled her for about an hour and a half, and asked if she was "ready for round two" before ending the assault. She described severe bruising, anxiety, depression and PTSD, and noted that the trial process had a major impact on her mental health. Saunders had 10 prior convictions. Judge Pauline Codd sentenced him to three and a half years, suspending the final six months on strict conditions, including probation engagement. The sentence reflects the seriousness of the prolonged assault on a vulnerable woman in an intimate relationship.
2022-04-01 · Carlow
Gavin Forde, 21, was caught by a garda in broad daylight with a bundle of €16,235 in cash protruding from his pocket. He fled but was apprehended minutes later. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court accepted that Forde was obtaining the money to transfer it elsewhere, though its origin was not explained. Forde pleaded guilty to possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct. He had two prior convictions for possession of drugs and obstruction of justice. Judge Karen O'Connor sentenced him to 150 hours of community service in lieu of 15 months' imprisonment, citing his youth, lack of prior serious offending, addiction issues and early admission of guilt. She warned that failure to complete the community service could lead to reinstatement of the sentence. The other man involved was not charged. The cash was deemed proceeds of criminal conduct.
2020-09-02 · Dublin
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, Lloyd Saunders, aged 32, pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm, false imprisonment and threatening to kill or cause serious harm. The alleged incident occurred on 17 December 2016 at Saunders' Finglas address, where his then‑girlfriend Kelly Evans claimed he assaulted her for at least an hour and a half, including slapping, strangling and threatening her with death. Evans said Saunders had been angry, had taken a drink, and had asked her to leave but she refused. Saunders allegedly propped her up, asked if she was "ready for round two" and then let her leave after the assault. The jury, composed of five women and seven men, could not reach a verdict after three days. Judge Martin Nolan remanded Saunders on continuing bail and adjourned the case to 6 October. The trial was the first criminal trial in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court since March of that year.
2020-09-01 · Dublin
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, Lloyd Saunders, aged 32, pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm, false imprisonment and a threat to kill or cause serious harm. The alleged incident occurred on 17 December 2016 at Saunders' home in Finglas, where his then‑girlfriend, Kelly Evans, was reportedly confined to a bedroom and subjected to slapping and strangulation lasting at least an hour and a half. Saunders told Gardaí that Evans had marks on her face when she arrived, describing them as "not that bad", and that she had cried when he refused to let her stay. He also claimed Evans had faked a 999 call and that a tyre puncture was caused by a third party. Evans' medical report listed bruising on her eyes, forehead, hairline, neck, arms, chest and legs, with no fractures. The case is being heard by Judge Martin Nolan with a jury of five women and seven men. The trial continues tomorrow.
2020-08-31 · Dublin
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Lloyd Saunders, aged 32, pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm, false imprisonment and a threat to kill after allegedly slapping and strangling his girlfriend for at least an hour and a half in his bedroom in December 2016. The prosecution, led by Garrett McCormack BL, described the incident as the first criminal trial in the court since March of that year. Kelly Evans, the victim, testified that Saunders arrived an hour late, became angry, and after refusing to leave, repeatedly slapped her and strangled her while she fought and screamed. She claimed he threatened to kill her if she moved and that the assault ended when she fled, leaving her keys and glasses behind. Evans called 999 after leaving and a recording of the call was played in court.
2020-06-18 · Dublin
Daniel Murphy, aged 21, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for two offences. He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm on 6 September 2018 and to aggravated burglary on 4 January 2020. The assault involved a Latvian man whose stolen bike was unlocked by another man; Murphy and a third man punched and kicked the victim, who required stitches and suffered a black eye. While on bail for the assault, Murphy and another man broke into a flat on James' Street. The resident confronted them, and Murphy jabbed a screwdriver at her. They attempted to steal her TV and phone, smashing a window in the process. The court noted 53 prior convictions, many from juvenile years. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a one‑year term for the assault and a three‑and‑a‑half‑year term for the burglary, running consecutively, with the final 18 months suspended for an effective custodial term of three years.
2020-01-30 · Dublin
Patrick Scanlon, a 42‑year‑old former paratrooper and Legionnaire, was found to have PTSD when he stole a €25 Buddha‑style garden statue from a hardware shop in Finglas, Dublin. He had been walking past the shop when he saw the statue on the ground and picked it up. The next day Garda Niamh Corrigan stopped him on Wellmount Avenue after spotting a sharp knife in his pocket and arrested him for unlawful possession of a knife. Scanlon admitted the statue was stolen and pleaded guilty to theft from James Malone at Finglas DIY on 17 February 2019. He had 27 prior convictions, most of them thefts from 2019. His defence lawyer, Mark Lynam, argued that Scanlon was out of control and self‑medicating, and that he was now dealing with PTSD with social services.
2019-07-22 · Dublin
A 75‑year‑old man, Christopher Redmond of Finglas, had his 2018 conviction for raping his granddaughter quashed after a new medical report found he suffered from a severe form of dementia with no prospect of recovery. The Court of Appeal considered that the earlier report, which had only noted a mild cognitive impairment, did not raise any doubt about his fitness to stand trial at the time of the original trial. Redmond had pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault between 2002 and 2004. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, who had reduced the headline sentence because of his progressive cognitive impairments. The appeal was allowed, and no further order was made. The victim, Leanne Murphy, aged seven to nine when abused, expressed her shock and disappointment with the outcome.
2019-04-02 · Dublin
The Court of Appeal has adjourned the appeal of Christopher Redmond, a 75-year-old man convicted of raping and sexually assaulting his granddaughter. Redmond, of Finglas, pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault committed between January 2002 and May 2004 at the Tolka Valley pitch and putt club. He was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury in early 2018 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment by Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh on April 27, 2018. His defence counsel, Andrew Sexton SC, argued that a post-conviction forensic psychiatric report, which identified significant cognitive impairment, raised doubts about his fitness to plead under Section 4 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006. The report noted his condition likely predated the trial but did not explicitly address fitness to plead as the conviction had already occurred. President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, stated the court required specific expert opinions on his fitness to be tried. The State indicated its intention to have Redmond assessed by a Central Mental Hospital expert. The matter was adjourned for mention on June 21 to allow for these further assessments. Redmond is currently detained in Midlands Prison.
2019-03-29 · Dublin
Two men from Dublin have been sentenced following their involvement in a significant drugs seizure and money laundering operation. Patrick Kavanagh, aged 59, of Ballygall Crescent, Finglas, and Patrick Hannon, of Rathvilly Park, Finglas, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of amphetamine and cannabis for sale or supply on 21 August 2017. Gardaí intercepted the pair moving drugs from a storage unit in north Dublin, recovering approximately nine kilogrammes of MDMA and eleven kilogrammes of cannabis herb and resin, with an estimated street value of €645,720. Hannon additionally pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing proceeds of crime, having allowed cheques from companies using false identities to be lodged into his bank account. Judge Melanie Greally imposed concurrent sentences of three years for the money laundering offences. She sentenced Kavanagh to four and a half years with the final eighteen months suspended, and Hannon to six and a half years with the final eighteen months suspended. The judge noted both men occupied lower positions within the criminal hierarchy and had expressed remorse.
2018-10-12 · Dublin
Paul Slevin, 48, of Rathvilly Park, Finglas, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to cultivating cannabis plants worth €23,200 at his former home on 12 April 2015. He claimed he was bullied out of his apartment by a lodger who had been growing the plants, changed the locks and forced him to sleep on the sofa. Gardaí found a black tent with 29 plants, heat lamps and a water butt; the plants were not yet ready for harvest but would be worth €800 each when mature. Judge Jude Patricia Ryan sentenced Slevin to three years imprisonment, suspended in full for two years on the condition he keep the peace and be of good behaviour. The case noted Slevin's guilty plea, lack of prior convictions and full cooperation with the investigation.
2018-10-05 · Dublin
Paul Slevin, a 48-year-old father from Finglas, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to cultivating cannabis plants valued at €23,200. The offence occurred at Ballygall Road East on April 12, 2015. Prosecution evidence stated that Slevin walked into a garda station while intoxicated, claiming he had been bullied out of his home by a lodger who was growing the plants. However, Detective Garda David Sheffield suggested Slevin invented this story because his tenancy was ending and he had no place to store the plants. A search of the apartment revealed 29 cannabis plants, heat lamps, and a water butt. Although the plants were not ready for harvest, they were estimated to be worth €800 each when mature. Slevin, a qualified stone mason with no previous convictions, admitted to the charge. His defence counsel, Seamus Clarke SC, argued that Slevin should receive credit for his guilty plea, for handing the plants to gardaí, and for taking steps to address his addiction. The court noted that the maximum term of imprisonment for this offence is 14 years. Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned sentencing until October 12. The matter was adjourned and not concluded.
2018-04-27 · Dublin
During sentencing, Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh described the absence of sentencing guidelines for rape cases as "somewhat bizarre". She imposed a five‑year prison term on Christopher Redmond, aged 74, after a jury conviction for four rapes and five sexual assaults of his granddaughter between 2002 and 2004 at the Tolka Valley pitch and putt club. Redmond, who works at the club, denied the charges but was found guilty in February. The judge had originally set a headline sentence of 15 years, reduced to ten years due to no prior offences and his age, and further to five years because of his progressive cognitive impairment, which a forensic psychiatrist confirmed was genuine. The judge noted that the Supreme Court requires an immediate custodial sentence for rape, yet no specific sentencing figures exist, making the practice "highly unregulated". The victim, now 23, had waived anonymity and testified about the abuse, describing severe physical and psychological harm.
2017-04-04 · Dublin
Margaret McDonnell, a 23‑year‑old single mother from Rathvilly Park, Finglas, was given a suspended 18‑month jail sentence after she spent €51,000 that had been mistakenly deposited into her account by Bank of Ireland. Between March 7 and 16, 2013, she withdrew and spent €24,946 on items for her two children and personal purchases, including crystal vases, a crystal mushroom lamp, and various clothing and food items. She pleaded guilty to 13 counts of theft of cash. The judge, citing the accidental nature of the deposit, suspended the sentence on the condition that McDonnell repay €1,000 to the bank within 18 months and complete 150 hours of community service. The Probation Service assessed her as low risk of re‑offending, and the court noted that the offences were not pre‑planned and the money was spent on mundane items.
2017-01-25 · Dublin
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, 23‑year‑old Margaret McDonnell pleaded guilty to 13 counts of theft of cash from Bank of Ireland after a bank error deposited €51,808 into her account on 6 March 2013. She withdrew €5,000 the next day and spent €24,946 over nine days at various shops and restaurants, including Dunnes Stores, Tesco, and New Look. The bank recovered €26,862 of the original deposit and requested repayment, which McDonnell ignored. She admitted responsibility, claiming she believed the money was hers because it appeared in her account. The judge adjourned the case to April, ordered a Probation Services report to assess her suitability for community service, and noted her lack of prior convictions. The case highlights the financial impact of the accidental deposit and her subsequent spending spree.