In 2015 the Supreme Court dismissed appeals by jockey Eddie O'Connell and trainer Jim Lambe, who had challenged a High Court finding that they were not entitled to contest the Turf Club's authority to enforce racing rules. The Court also rejected the Turf Club's cross‑appeal that it was not subject to judicial review. The dispute stemmed from the Turf Club's investigation into alleged irregular betting on the horse Yachvili in a 2011 Downpatrick race. O'Connell was found to have breached racing rules, while Lambe was acquitted. The appellants sought declarations that the Turf Club's rules and the 1994 Act were unconstitutional, but the Court held the Act merely supported the Club's pre‑existing jurisdiction. The Supreme Court's unanimous decision affirmed the Turf Club's legal power to make and enforce rules, and dismissed all claims on their merits. The ruling confirmed that the Club's decisions are subject to judicial review under the 1994 Act.
The High Court has struck out a damages action brought by Lorcan Roche Kelly against the State following the murder of his wife, Sylvia Roche Kelly, in December 2007. Ms Roche Kelly, a mother of two, was killed at The Clarion Hotel in Limerick by Gerard McGrath, who was later sentenced to life imprisonment. Mr Roche Kelly had sued the State, the Garda Commissioner, and the Minister for Justice, claiming that McGrath should have remained in custody rather than being granted bail on charges relating to an assault on a taxi driver in County Cavan and false imprisonment in County Tipperary. High Court President Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns dismissed the claim, acknowledging the case's tragic nature but finding it disclosed no reasonable cause of action under existing law. While the judge described the handling of bail procedures by An Garda Síochána as negligent and disgraceful, he concluded that McGrath's actions were not reasonably foreseeable and that no special duty of care towards the deceased had arisen.
In May 2014 a man from Portlaoise, Robert Corbet, aged 25, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 30‑year‑old nanny Aoife Phelan. Corbet pleaded not guilty but admitted to strangling Phelan in his garage between 25 October and 7 November 2012. He claimed he had doubts about her pregnancy, that she threatened him, and that these threats caused him to lose control. He strangled her, covered her head with a plastic bag, tied her neck with cable ties, and placed her body in a barrel. He later buried the barrel in a pit on his property. Gardaí found the body and Corbet was convicted of murder. The jury found no provocation and the State described his actions as deliberate and calculated. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan imposed a mandatory life sentence. The Phelan family left the courthouse without comment.
In a 2014 Central Criminal Court hearing, Robert Corbet, a 25‑year‑old from Sheffield Cross, Laois, was charged with the murder of 30‑year‑old nanny Aoife Phelan. Corbet pleaded not guilty but admitted manslaughter. He told Gardaí that he had snapped after Phelan threatened to ruin him if he walked away from her and her pregnancy. He claimed he had met her in his jeep on 25 October, that she had been "pushy" about not being in a relationship, and that he struck her on the head several times. Corbet said he then drove to Dublin, left her body on a bridge, and tried to dispose of it. He denied any recent phone contact about a pregnancy, but phone records and deleted WhatsApp messages were presented. The case was heard before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan.
A trial is ongoing at the Central Criminal Court regarding the murder of Aoife Phelan (30), whose body was discovered buried in a barrel in Capoley Portlaoise between 25 October and 7 November 2012. Robert Corbet of Sheffield Cross County Laois is accused of the murder but pleaded not guilty, though he admitted to manslaughter earlier this week. The plea of manslaughter was not accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Sergeant Liam Mulhall testified that gardai found evidence of a disturbance near Corbet's home on 6 November 2012, leading to an excavation where a barrel containing Phelan's remains was discovered. The discovery was described as 'the saddest and most gruesome discovery made' by Conor Devally SC defending. Betty Phelan, the mother of the deceased, stated that concerns arose when her daughter did not answer her phone on 26 October 2012, which was out of character for her. It was confirmed that Phelan had made a complaint to gardai in 2005 following an incident of non-consensual sex, which had deeply upset her. The trial continues before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and a jury of three women and nine men.
The trial of Robert Corbet (25) of Sheffield Cross County Laois, charged with the murder of Aoife Phelan (30) between 25 October and 7 November 2012, commenced at the Central Criminal Court. Corbet pleaded not guilty to the murder charge but admitted to manslaughter, a plea not accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The prosecution alleges that Corbet met Phelan at a nightclub, engaged in sexual contact without intercourse, and later repeatedly struck her before disposing of her body in an oil barrel at Capoley, Portlaoise. The cause of death is stated as asphyxia with blunt force trauma to the head and chest. The prosecution claims Corbet brought Phelan to his garage, restrained her, and disposed of her body. Garda Louise Young detailed that Phelan's father, Michael Phelan, reported her missing on 26 October 2012. Her mobile phone and handbag were later found in Corbet's vehicle. Corbet's statement to gardai indicated he had no sexual intercourse with Phelan and denied being the father of her unborn child. The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, continues with a jury of three women and nine men, with CCTV footage to be presented.
In a High Court decision on 3 April 2014, Mr Justice Brian McGovern dismissed the challenge brought by jockey Eddie O'Connell and trainer Jim Lambe against the Turf Club's authority to enforce horse‑racing rules. The men had sought to invalidate any sanctions arising from the Turf Club's investigation into alleged irregular betting on the horse Yachvili in the 2011 Kerry Food European Breeders Funds Beginners Chase. They claimed the Turf Club's jurisdiction was unlawful and that its rules were unconstitutional, arguing that any decision could end their careers and damage their reputations. The court found the Turf Club's regulatory powers were established by the 1994 Irish Horse Racing Industry Act and that the rules promoted integrity and fair play. Consequently, the court upheld the Turf Club's authority and struck out the applicants' claims, noting the investigation's findings were not relevant to the judgment. The ruling highlighted the limits of judicial intervention in sporting matters.