Court archive
Court reports mentioning Castletownbere, Cork
2025-02-18 · Dublin
In February 2024, a pallet of flat‑pack furniture was seized by Customs after a sniffer dog signalled the presence of drugs. Gardaí conducted a controlled delivery and, upon breaking into the wooden shelves, discovered €830,000 worth of cannabis herb hidden inside. The suspect, Arnoldas Paleckis, 33, of Mariners View, Castletownbere, was apprehended when he arrived in a rental van to collect the pallet. He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing drugs for sale or supply in Newcastle, Co Dublin, and to possessing an encrypted phone for the commission of an offence. Paleckis had a prior conviction for drug production in the UK, for which he received a two‑year sentence. At sentencing, Judge Martin Nolan accepted his guilty plea and remorse, noting the pressure he faced, and imposed a jail term of six years and nine months.
2025-02-12 · Cork
The trial of Filipino Harold Estoesta (31) and Iranian Saeid Hassani (39) continues in the Special Criminal Court, where both defendants have pleaded not guilty to three charges including possession of cocaine for sale or supply and participation in a criminal organisation. The prosecution alleges the pair were involved in the seizure of 2.25 tonnes of cocaine, valued at €157 million, from the MV Matthew. Counsel for the State outlined evidence of messages sent to the vessel's bridge instructing the crew to set a course for Africa at full speed and to burn the drugs if intercepted by a helicopter. The State contends that Estoesta was alone on the bridge during the pursuit, placing him in control of the cargo, and that he actively suggested methods to evade law enforcement, including preparing gasoline to burn the contraband. Evidence also highlighted discrepancies in the ship's navigation data and the failed rendezvous with the fishing vessel The Castlemore. While the trial for Estoesta and Hassani is ongoing, four co-accused—Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk and Vitaliy Vlasoi, Iranian Soheil Jelveh, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen—previously pleaded guilty to similar offences connected to the seizure. The matter remains at the trial stage, with proceedings expected to last approximately six weeks under the presiding judge.
2022-03-29 · Cork
Marius Rucinskas, 45, a former Lithuanian murderer now living in Cork, was convicted of a brutal domestic assault on his wife Renata Rucinskeine on 1 January 2020. He dragged her by the hair, struck her head off a table, punched, kicked, tried to pull her eyelashes off and threatened to kill her. He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and criminal damage in September 2021. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the 18‑month suspended sentence, arguing it was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal quashed the original sentence, increased it to three‑and‑a‑half years, but suspended the final two years. Rucinskas was released after serving 13 months in custody and entered a good‑behaviour bond. The case highlights the court's assessment of the severity of the assault and the need for a harsher penalty.
2017-02-09 · Cork
In February 2017, Cornelius Minihane, a fisherman from Castletownbere, Cork, brought a High Court action against Skellig Fish Limited, alleging the company failed to honour a contract to sell him 324 gross tonnes of fishing capacity for €900,000. Minihane claims the company has not completed the deal and may attempt to transfer the capacity to another party, which he says would cause irreparable damage to his economic interests. He had paid a €90,000 deposit and commissioned a new trawler costing €6 million, financed partly by a loan from AIB. Minihane also expressed concerns after learning that Skellig Fish's shareholders had sold shares to Spanish investors. On ex‑parte, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan granted a temporary injunction preventing Skellig Fish from selling, alienating, charging or mortgaging the fishing capacity, and adjourned the case to the following week. The injunction protects Minihane's interest pending further proceedings.
2014-07-23 · Cork
In a High Court hearing on 23 July 2014, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns ordered the winding up of Berehaven Credit Union (BCU), a Munster‑based credit union with 3,500 members. The Central Bank had requested the order after learning in 2010 of serious governance and financial problems at BCU, including irregular lending to connected parties, failure to meet regulatory reserve requirements, and a negative regulatory reserve ratio of –3.8%. The bank had directed BCU to limit lending, cap investments, and restore its regulatory reserve ratio to 10%, but BCU could not raise the €1.3 million needed to comply. The court appointed Jim Hamilton and David O'Connor of BDO Ireland as provisional liquidators, noting that an orderly wind‑up was in the public interest and would protect depositors under the €100,000 guarantee scheme. The case was adjourned for a week to allow further proceedings.