Court archive
Court reports mentioning Killough, Down
2024-01-22 · Down
Cathy Moore, superintendent at the Charles Sheils housing complex for older people in Killough, Co Down, was dismissed in September 2021 after a wave of complaints from residents who opposed Covid‑19 lockdown measures she enforced. An independent investigator found no basis for the complaints, yet the charity's governors re‑opened an investigation and terminated her employment, a process the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) described as flawed and contrary to natural justice. The WRC held that Moore was "entirely blameless" and awarded her €10,000 compensation under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. The tribunal noted that the dismissal was akin to a mutiny, with residents resisting her authority and the charity yielding to group pressure. Moore had served since 2013, received a €4,658 allowance and tied accommodation, and was forced to relocate to Dublin after her dismissal. The case confirmed her legal domicile in Ireland, giving the WRC jurisdiction to adjudicate.
2021-11-16 · Tipperary
Patrick Quirke, aged 52, lost his appeal against a 2019 conviction for the murder of DJ Bobby "Mr Moonlight" Ryan, aged 52, whose decomposed body was found in a disused slurry tank on a farm leased by Quirke. The Court of Appeal rejected more than 50 grounds of appeal presented by Quirke's lawyers. Judge George Birmingham, delivering the judgment, said he was not persuaded by any of the arguments and expressed unease about the trial's extensive legal argument. He noted the trial was the longest in Irish history, lasting 71 days, and described the number of voir dire as extraordinary. Quirke was not present at the hearing but watched via video link. The court upheld the jury's guilty verdict and the life sentence imposed in 2019. The appeal court also dismissed the defence's claim that the trial judge should have declared the trial unfair. The judgment reaffirmed that the evidence, though circumstantial, was sufficient for conviction.
2019-12-17 · Tipperary
During a 13‑week trial, the prosecution presented circumstantial evidence linking Patrick Quirke to the murder of Bobby Ryan, arguing that Quirke's jealousy and financial dependence on Mary Lowry motivated the killing. Quirke had leased Lowry's land, had a sexual relationship with her, and was seen at her home on the day Ryan disappeared. He claimed he discovered Ryan's body in a waste‑water tank on 30 April 2013, describing the tank as partially full and the body as a "carpet or inflatable doll." Forensic entomology suggested the body had been present for at least 11 days. The defence argued the evidence was unreliable, citing inconsistencies in Lowry's testimony, lack of independent evidence of Quirke's motive, and questioning the integrity of the tank's condition. The jury ultimately convicted Quirke by a majority verdict for Ryan's murder.
2019-02-14 · Tipperary
Patrick Quirke, 50, of Breanshamore, Co. Tipperary, pleaded not guilty to the murder of DJ Bobby 'Mr Moonlight' Ryan, who disappeared between June 2011 and April 2013. Ryan's body was found in a run‑off tank on a farm leased by Quirke and owned by his former lover, Mary Lowry, 52. Quirke told gardai that he discovered the body while trying to empty the tank, describing it as a "body" with a pelvis and private area face‑down. He denied any jealousy or animosity toward Ryan, claimed he had no role in the body's placement, and said he only knew of Ryan's disappearance from Lowry's statements. Quirke also expressed that Lowry had a "couldn't care less attitude" about Ryan's disappearance. The trial is proceeding before Justice Eileen Creedon with a jury of twelve.
2019-02-04 · Tipperary
At the Central Criminal Court, the son of Bobby Ryan told how he encountered Mary Lowry at her farm on the morning his father vanished in June 2011. Robert Ryan Junior said Ms Lowry appeared visibly shaken and upset, and he sensed immediately that something was wrong. He noted her behaviour seemed designed to hurry him away from the property. Patrick Quirke, aged 50 from Breanshamore, County Tipperary, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Ryan between June 2011 and April 2013. Mr Ryan's body was discovered in a waste tank on a farm at Fawnagown that Ms Lowry owned and Mr Quirke leased. The deceased's daughter, Michelle Ryan, a DJ herself, described finding her father's Citroen van in Breansha Wood after he failed to appear for work. She noted the vehicle's condition suggested her father had not been the last person to drive it. The trial before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon continues before a jury.