Court archive
Court reports mentioning Ballincollig, Cork
2025-07-29 · Cork
In a Court of Appeal decision on 29 July 2025, Judge Brian O'Moore upheld a fully suspended sentence for Mohamed Adeagbo, a 24‑year‑old from Highfield, Ballincollig, who pleaded guilty to possessing €114,000 worth of cocaine for sale and to a money‑laundering offence involving €1,530 in cash. Adeagbo had been paid €500 per week for his role in drug supply. The Court found the three‑and‑a‑half‑year drug sentence, fully suspended, and a concurrent one‑year money‑laundering sentence, also fully suspended, to be appropriate. The Director of Public Prosecutions had appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient, citing the quantity of drugs, cash, and an iPhone with offending messages. The Court rejected the appeal, noting Adeagbo's compliance with probation, his drug‑free status at sentencing, and his efforts to reform, and stated that the suspended sentence did not represent a substantial departure from an appropriate penalty.".
2025-07-14 · Cork
The Court of Appeal heard the State's appeal against the fully suspended sentence imposed on Mohamed Adeagbo, a 24‑year‑old from Highfield, Ballincollig, who was caught with 1.6 kg of cocaine worth €114,000, cannabis and €1,530 in cash. Adeagbo pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for sale and to a money‑laundering charge. Judge Helen Boyle sentenced him to three years and six months on the drugs charge, fully suspended, and one year on the money‑laundering charge, also fully suspended. The DPP argued that no wholly exceptional circumstances justified a fully suspended sentence, citing Adeagbo's active role in drug supply, weekly earnings of €500, and possession of an iPhone with incriminating messages. The respondent's counsel highlighted his youth, lack of wealth, and cooperation with probation. The Court will decide on July 29.
2024-03-15 · Cork
The owners of the Fota Island resort and other luxury hotels in Cork have secured temporary freezing orders against former directors Xiu Xiang Kelly and her son Tuo Du. The High Court granted the orders after Mr Yuzhu Kang, a Chinese businessman who had previously resolved a dispute over the resorts, alleged that the directors defrauded the companies of more than €1.8 million. Mr Kang claims the directors received €1.5 million for artworks and furniture that were worth far less, and that €246,000 was paid for sham redundancies in 2021. He also cites an unpaid €125,000 loan to Ms Kelly. The court ordered that Ms Kelly's assets not fall below €1.85 million and Mr Du's not below €1.7 million, pending further proceedings. The case remains at the temporary injunction stage, with the matter set to return to court early next week.
2024-03-14 · Cork
The High Court has dismissed a judicial review application brought by Eddie Cunningham Cummins and Erica Cunningham Cummins, residents of Heron's Wood, Carrigaline, Co Cork. The applicants challenged the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal's refusal to compensate them for the 2005 shooting death of their father, Eddie Cummins Senior, in Ballincollig, Co Cork. Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty ruled that the Tribunal was correct in its decision, finding it not disproportionate or discriminatory to deny compensation to dependants where the victim died as a result of their criminality. The court noted that Mr Cummins Senior had over 20 convictions, including for drug offences, and that the killing was believed to be drug-related. Although the judge expressed sympathy for the "blameless children," she held that the State's policy of deterring crime justified the refusal. The Tribunal had previously rejected the 2011 application due to time limits and the victim's conduct, a decision upheld on appeal in 2022. The applicants sought to quash the Tribunal's decision and obtain declarations that it was irrational or breached their rights. The court found that the applicants failed to establish that the Tribunal acted outside its powers, fettered its discretion, or made an unreasonable decision. No one has been prosecuted for the murder.
2024-03-13 · Cork
Ian Horgan, a convicted rapist and killer, had his jail term increased from eight and a half years to 11 years and three months by the Court of Appeal for the assault causing serious harm on Hassan Baker. The appeal considered video evidence of the hammer attack on March 26, 2022, at McCurtain Villas, Cork, where Horgan used a claw‑hammer to strike Baker, choke him, and then continue striking him, causing severe injuries. Horgan also attacked Baker's mother, Mary O'Callaghan, breaking her wrist. The Court of Appeal found the original sentence too lenient, citing Horgan's history of violence and the extreme nature of the attack, and imposed the increased term with no portion suspended. The assault causing harm sentence for O'Callaghan was not altered. The decision was based on the evidence presented in the appeal hearing. Ian Horgan pleaded guilty.
2024-03-11 · Cork
Kamal Kumar Nepali, a 24‑year‑old Nepalese national from Beech Park, Ballincollig, was sentenced by Mr Justice Michael MacGrath in the Central Criminal Court to ten years' imprisonment, with the final year suspended on strict conditions. The sentence was back‑dated to his entry into custody on 17 June 2022. The judge described the offence as a "predatory" rape that occurred in the victim's bedroom in the dead of night, noting the victim's vulnerability and the physical violence involved. He highlighted aggravating factors such as the burglary context and the violation of the victim's home security, while noting mitigating factors including Nepali's lack of prior convictions and character references. The judge also ordered no contact between Nepali and the victim for an indefinite period. Nepali's counsel intends to appeal the decision. The case involved a rape, burglary, assault causing harm, sexual assault and four counts of trespass, all of which resulted in conviction on 7 December 2023.
2024-01-22 · Cork
In a Central Criminal Court hearing on 22 January 2024, Nepalese native Kamal Kumar Nepali, aged 24, was found guilty by a jury of rape, burglary, assault causing harm, sexual assault and four counts of trespass in Cork. The offences occurred on 1 March 2022 during student Rag Week celebrations. Nepali had burglarised four houses in an attempt to find an intoxicated woman to rape; all four houses had male occupants. He then broke into a house at 5:30 am on 28 February 2022, where he raped a woman who had returned from a pub, slept, and was later found with bruises and injuries. The victim, who had been drinking, described the assault and the subsequent panic. Nepali denied the charges, but his statements changed during detention. He has no prior convictions. The case was adjourned for finalisation on 11 March 2024.
2023-11-09 · Cork
In November 2023 the Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Oriel House Hotel Ltd must pay €11,000 in compensation to Margaret O'Sullivan, her partner Joseph O'Donovan and her sister Theresa O'Sullivan after the hotel refused them accommodation on 6 July 2021. The family had booked a dinner and overnight stay to celebrate a First Holy Communion. At check‑in the receptionist told them the hotel was overbooked, and after two managers approached them the group was hurried out of the lobby. The hotel offered a €600 cash refund in the car park but no alternative lodging or meal. The tribunal found the hotel's claim that it could not distinguish Travellers from settled guests was implausible and that the family was discriminated against on the basis of Traveller identity.
2022-12-12 · Cork
Eddie Cunningham Cummins and Erica Cunningham Cummins, residents of Heron's Wood, Carrigaline, Co Cork, have brought a High Court judicial review against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal and the Minister for Justice. The applicants are the children of Eddie Cummins Snr, who was killed in a shooting in Ballincollig, Co Cork, in 2005. The Tribunal initially refused their compensation claim in 2021, citing that the application was made outside the statutory time limit and that the victim's conduct, including previous convictions and the nature of the killing, rendered an award inappropriate under Article 13 of the scheme. The applicants appealed this decision, arguing that Article 13 applies only to the conduct of the applicant, not the deceased victim, and that the children were innocent of their father's actions. The Tribunal upheld the refusal in 2022. In the current proceedings, the applicants seek to quash the Tribunal's decision, claiming it was irrational, breached fair procedures, and violated their rights under EU law, the Irish Constitution, and the European Convention on Human Rights. The matter was heard by Mr Justice Charles Meenan, who granted the applicants permission to bring the challenge on an ex-parte basis. The case was adjourned and made returnable to a date in February.
2021-12-09 · Cork
Harry O'Brien, 22, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the importation of cannabis and possession of cannabis and Ketamine for sale or supply at Trinity Halls, Rathmines, on March 13, 2019. Judge Melanie Greally set an indicative sentence of 16 months imprisonment but deferred its imposition under Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The court ordered O'Brien to pay a €500 fine, complete three months of voluntary work for St Vincent de Paul, and keep the peace and be of good behaviour during the adjourned period. If these conditions are met, the judge stated she would discharge him from the indictment. The matter was adjourned to March 21, 2022. O'Brien, who has no previous convictions, admitted to purchasing the drugs via the dark web for personal use, denying he was a dealer. The court noted his mental state was precarious at the time of the offence but acknowledged his subsequent academic success and founding of a disabled students' advocacy group.
2021-11-12 · Cork
Harry O'Brien, 22, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the importation of cannabis and possession of cannabis and Ketamine for sale or supply at Trinity Halls, Rathmines, on March 13, 2019. The court heard that O'Brien imported cannabis valued at €4,426 from the United States via the dark web, while gardaí also found Ketamine worth €1,000 and additional cannabis at his address. Although O'Brien admitted to ordering drugs online, he denied being a dealer, stating he intended to consume the substances. Defence counsel highlighted O'Brien's improved mental health, his first-class honours, and his role in founding a national disabled students' advocacy group. Judge Melanie Greally acknowledged the seriousness of the misconduct but expressed openness to a Section 100 disposal, which allows for a fine and deferred imprisonment. The matter was adjourned to November 25 to allow for the canvassing of charitable organisations. The judge indicated a view to adjourning the matter again on that date under Section 100 provisions, rather than finalising the sentence immediately.
2019-12-17 · Cork
In a High Court judicial review, JCP Powdermill Care Centre Ltd, a nursing home in Ballincollig, challenges a Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report that criticised its fire‑safety procedures. The centre argues the report, published on 1 October, was based on an unannounced inspection in late May 2019 and that it was not properly notified of the allegations or given a chance to respond. It claims HIQA failed to follow fair procedures, did not allow the centre to make representations or to call witnesses, and did not provide reasons for its findings or reference the relevant regulatory framework. The centre seeks an order quashing the report and an injunction to remove it from HIQA's website, citing negative business impact and difficulties in raising finance. The court, after an ex‑parte decision by Mr Justice Charles Meenan, has set a February hearing date.