Court archive
Court reports mentioning Indreabhán, Galway
2021-02-09 · Galway
Maura Thornton, 38, of Inverin, Connemara, was originally sentenced in 2013 to ten years imprisonment for the manslaughter of her former partner Kevin Joyce, 59, outside her Salthill apartment on 3 July 2011. Three years of that sentence were suspended. In February 2018 she was granted early release, but she breached the conditions of her partly suspended sentence by drinking alcohol. In October 2022 a bench warrant was issued after she failed to appear in court. At a hearing on 9 February 2021, Mr Justice Paul McDermott found that Thornton had not engaged with probation services and had attempted to negotiate with the court. He therefore sent her back to prison for 16 months, activating 22 months of the suspended term and leaving the remaining three years suspended. The court noted that Thornton had been in custody since 8 October 2020 and that her compliance with treatment and probation had been inadequate. Maura Thornton was found guilty.
2020-12-16 · Galway
Maura Thornton, 38, of Inverin, Connemara, was sentenced in 2013 to ten years' imprisonment for the manslaughter of her former partner Kevin Joyce, 59, who was stabbed 18 times outside her Salthill apartment on 31 July 2011. Three years of the sentence were suspended. In February 2018 she was granted early release but breached the conditions by drinking alcohol, violating the suspended portion. In a hearing on 16 December 2020, Thornton appeared via video link from the Dochas Women's Centre at Mountjoy prison. She did not speak, but her barrister, Blaise O'Carroll SC, reported that she has been attending regular meetings with health professionals who describe her as open, insightful and realistic, and that she is engaging with prison services. Justice Paul McDermott expressed concerns and refused to release her for Christmas, requesting a structured treatment plan and adjourned the case until 9 February to allow that plan to be developed.
2020-10-09 · Galway
Maura Thornton, 38, of Inverin, Connemara, was returned to prison for two months after breaching the conditions of her release. She had been sentenced in 2013 to ten years' imprisonment for the manslaughter of her former partner Kevin Joyce, 59, outside her Salthill apartment on 3 July 2011, with the final three years suspended. Thornton failed to appear at a Central Criminal Court hearing where Judge Paul McDermott was to address her non‑compliance with the suspended sentence's conditions, including a prohibition on alcohol. A bench warrant was issued for her arrest. The judge noted that Thornton had admitted to drinking, partly due to isolation during Covid‑19 restrictions, and described her life as chaotic. He ordered a psychiatric assessment and probation report, remanding her in custody for two months without activating the suspended portion of her sentence. The case is scheduled for a hearing on 23 November.
2020-10-07 · Galway
In October 2020, a bench warrant was issued for Maura Thornton, 38, of Inverin, Connemara, following her failure to comply with the conditions of her suspended sentence. Thornton had been convicted of manslaughter in 2013 for the July 2011 killing of her former partner Kevin Joyce, 59, outside her Salthill apartment. She received a ten‑year sentence with the final three years suspended. The Central Criminal Court had scheduled her appearance to address her breach of the suspended sentence, specifically her violation of a no‑alcohol clause. Thornton did not attend, prompting Judge Paul McDermott to issue the warrant. Her defence lawyer, Blaise O'Carroll SC, reported no contact and could not locate her. The State's counsel, Paul Carroll SC, noted that Thornton had fallen into drug and alcohol abuse, and the judge urged her to reengage with probation and addiction services to stabilize her chaotic life.
2020-06-29 · Galway
Maura Thornton, 38, from Inverin, Connemara, was sentenced in 2013 to ten years' imprisonment for the manslaughter of her former partner Kevin Joyce, 59, who was stabbed 18 times outside her Salthill apartment on 3 July 2011. Three years of her sentence were suspended on the condition that she address her alcohol problems. In 2020 the Central Criminal Court heard that Thornton had breached this condition by returning to drinking, a relapse she attributed in part to isolation during the Covid‑19 pandemic. She was admitted to hospital on 10 June for detoxification and had been sober for 19 days, taking alcohol deterrent medication, anti‑depressants and other drugs. Her probation officer had urged her to attend a residential treatment centre, which she agreed to, and the case was adjourned to 7 October for a progress update. The court noted that Thornton had recognised her problem and was taking steps to address it.
2020-06-15 · Galway
In a hearing at the Central Criminal Court on 15 June 2020, the court considered whether isolation caused by coronavirus measures had led Maura Thornton, 38, to breach a condition of her suspended sentence for the manslaughter of her former partner Kevin Joyce, 59. Thornton had been sentenced in 2013 to ten years' imprisonment, with the final three years suspended on the condition that she address her alcohol problems. The court heard that Thornton may have exceeded her alcohol limits during the isolation period. The case was adjourned to 29 June. Thornton's 2011 killing of Joyce, an American, involved 18 stab wounds inflicted on Joyce outside her Salthill apartment. The court noted that Thornton had been drinking heavily that night and that she had called the Gardaí after the incident, but they could not interview her due to her intoxication. The judge had previously suspended three years of her sentence to encourage rehabilitation.
2019-01-21 · Galway
In a High Court ruling on 21 January 2019, the mother of Nicola Vonkova, a 19‑year‑old murder victim, was permitted to amend her legal challenge against the State's refusal to pay compensation. Magdalena Vonkova, from Prague, had previously argued that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal's exclusion rule – which bars payment when the offender and victim live together – was inapplicable because she and the offender, Jakub Fidler, were not members of a household in the strict sense. The judge, Mr Justice Senan Allen, allowed an additional ground for the claim, contending that the scheme violated Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and breached EU law by failing to provide fair compensation for victims of violent international crimes. The amendment was proposed in June 2018, after the action began in April 2017, and the respondents – the Tribunal, the Minister for Justice and the State – opposed it on time‑limit grounds.
2016-04-21 · Galway
Gordon O'Rourke, 34, pleaded guilty to stealing almost €45,000 from his uncle's supermarket in Inverin on 30‑31 July 2012 and to making a false statement to gardaí. He had staged a fake abduction to justify the robbery. The Galway Circuit Criminal Court imposed a two‑year suspended sentence and 240 hours of community service. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was "unduly lenient". The Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence but added a €10,000 compensation payment to the injured party and required O'Rourke to pay within three years. He was also ordered to enter a good‑behaviour bond for three years. No custodial sentence was imposed, and the compensation was to be transferred to the State Solicitor for Galway. The case highlighted the court's focus on deterrence and the need for a clear punitive element.
2015-07-21 · Galway
Maura Thornton, 33, from Inverin, Connemara, was convicted of manslaughter for stabbing 59‑year‑old Kevin Joyce to death outside her Salthill apartment on 31 July 2011. A jury at the Central Criminal Court found her not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and imposed a 10‑year sentence, with the final three years suspended by Mr Justice Barry White on 13 March 2013. In the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan upheld the sentence, noting that Thornton and Joyce had a shared interest in Celtic studies and had met at University College Galway in 2011, where a relationship developed that involved excessive alcohol consumption. Thornton had been sober for six weeks before the incident, but Joyce's repeated attempts to contact her led to her ending her sobriety and drinking heavily on the night of the murder.
2015-02-27 · Dublin
The Central Criminal Court jury heard technical evidence on the 27th day of the trial of Graham Dwyer, who is charged with murdering Elaine O'Hara at Killakee, Rathfarnham on 22nd August 2012. Mr Dwyer, aged 42, has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Witnesses including telecommunications engineers provided detailed mobile phone records and data covering periods before and after the alleged offence. The court also heard from a woman who had engaged Mr Dwyer's architectural services in County Galway in 2009, and from witnesses who placed him at various locations during July 2012. A Ballyshannon hotel proprietor testified to his movements that month. The State's case is that the killing occurred hours after Ms O'Hara's discharge from a mental health facility. Her remains were discovered at Killakee in September 2013. The trial continues before Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of five women and seven men.