During a High Court hearing on 14 March 2024, the plaintiff company, Total Experience Limited trading as Pastures New Accommodation, presented evidence that a protest at its Newhall site in Naas, Co. Kildare, had ended after a temporary injunction was granted. The company, contracted by the State to provide 985 beds in 387 cabins for Ukrainian refugees, claimed that up to 50 protesters had blocked entrances for 24 hours, creating a nuisance and safety risk. The injunction, obtained ex‑parte, restrained the protesters from obstructing the site. The plaintiff sought to adjourn the proceedings and was granted permission to return if necessary. A concerned citizen, Mr Chris McCormack, addressed the court, voicing local residents' worries that the development would become a "village of 1,000 people" and that a similar facility had been used for "100 people from the third world" without documents.
Shaun Kelly, 33, received a suspended three‑year prison term for selling drugs, a separate offence from the careless driving that caused the death of French tourist Alicia Guilleux. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Martin Nolan, found Kelly had been engaged in drug dealing at the time but deemed the activity not extensive. The judge imposed a three‑year sentence, suspended in full on strict conditions, warning that any re‑offence would lead to jail. The court also dealt with the careless driving charge, where Kelly's vehicle dragged Guilleux beneath a Ford Ranger as she crossed South Great George Street. The judge noted Kelly's guilty plea, lack of prior convictions and the absence of aggravating factors, and suspended the one‑year custodial term for that offence, disqualifying him from driving for one year. The decision was made after reviewing evidence, CCTV footage and witness statements, with no intoxication or excessive speed involved.
In a Dublin city street incident on 11 December 2021, a French tourist, Alicia Guilleux, 31, and her partner were crossing South Great George Street hand‑in‑hand when Shaun Kelly, 33, driving a Ford Ranger, turned right from Fade Street and collided with them. Mr Avril was pushed clear, but Ms Guilleux was dragged beneath the vehicle, sustaining catastrophic injuries that led to her death two days later. Kelly, who had no prior convictions, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death and to possession of ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and TCP for sale. Judge Martin Nolan, after hearing evidence and CCTV, found Kelly's failure to notice the pedestrians was a human error. He imposed a one‑year custodial sentence, suspended in full, and disqualified Kelly from driving for one year. The judge would decide on the drug offence the following day. The case highlighted the tragic outcome of a momentary lapse in attention on the road.
John Clark, a volunteer in his 70s who worked for 38 years at Camphill Communities of Ireland, was dismissed after the HSE takeover in 2017. He had never received a salary, relying on a credit‑card system that covered his personal and community expenses. Clark claimed the charity had unfairly terminated his engagement, leaving him with only a state pension and support from his partner and housemates. He argued that the dismissal was not a redundancy and that the charity failed to follow fair procedures. The Workplace Relations Commission found that Camphill had breached the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. Clark was awarded €60,000 for loss of earnings and €1,000 for the contract breach, but no redundancy payment was granted. The decision confirmed his entitlement to pursue employment rights claims.
The High Court heard that a protest at a new Ukrainian refugee accommodation site in Newhall, Naas, Co Kildare, has "de‑escalated". Total Experience Limited, trading as Pastures New Accommodation, was building emergency accommodation for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees and had obtained a temporary injunction to stop protesters from blocking the site's entrances. The plaintiff's lawyers said that, despite the injunction, a campsite had been erected by protesters, which they alleged was trespassing. Counsel for the plaintiff reported that the campsite had been removed overnight, reducing the urgency of the matter. The court agreed to adjourn the case to the following Thursday, keeping the injunction in place. No protesters attended the adjourned hearing, and the plaintiff's application to amend the proceedings was postponed. The injunction remains in force while the case is pending.
The High Court heard that protesters continue to obstruct entrances to a refugee accommodation site in Naas, Co Kildare, despite a temporary injunction granted last week. Gary McCarthy SC, with Barry Mansfield BL, representing the applicant, Total Experience Limited trading as Pastures New Accommodation, told Mr Justice Oisin Quinn that the protest remains ongoing. Counsel alleged that while some protesters left, others erected a campsite at the entrance, preventing larger articulated lorries from accessing the site. The applicant claims the protesters are trespassing and requested to amend proceedings to address this alleged trespass, extend the previous order, and add the names of several identified individuals. The court heard the facility, contracted by the State to provide 985 beds, was scheduled to open this week but remains delayed. No defendants appeared or made representations. Mr Justice Quinn accepted the matter remained urgent and adjourned it to later this week. The applicant also alleged that protesters previously used tactics including human shields and parked cars to block access, constituting a nuisance. The company expressed concern over aggressive social media posts alleging threats of fire and sabotage, noting fears of escalation given previous incidents involving refugee accommodation.
Dan Horan, a 32‑year‑old panto performer from Wicklow, pleaded guilty in July 2023 to sexually assaulting a 26‑year‑old man at a house party in Naas in July 2020. The victim had fallen asleep after receiving cannabis from Horan. Horan was found to be rubbing the victim's penis while the victim's girlfriend discovered the assault at about 6 am, leading to the victim's distress. In February 2024 Judge Mary O'Malley Costello sentenced Horan to four‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended for two years. Horan appealed, arguing the headline sentence of six‑and‑a‑half years was too high. The Court of Appeal quashed the original sentence, re‑sentencing Horan to a headline of four‑and‑a‑half years, discounting 18 months, and suspending an additional 18 months to encourage rehabilitation.
A company building emergency accommodation for Ukrainian refugees in Newhall, Naas, Co Kildare, has obtained a temporary High Court injunction to stop protesters from blocking the site's entrances. Total Experience Limited, trading as Pastures New Accommodation, claims that up to 50 protesters have been preventing people and vehicles from entering or leaving the site by forming a "human shield" and parking cars in front of the entrances. The company says these actions amount to nuisance and unreasonable interference, and that the blockade could delay the completion of the facility, which is 90% finished and expected to be ready by early March. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey granted the injunction on an ex‑parte basis, restraining two identified protesters, Noreen O'Shea and Jessica McLoughlin, and against unknown persons who are also alleged to be obstructing the entrances. The injunction is temporary and the case is set to return to court next week.
The Special Criminal Court heard details of Declan 'Mr Nobody' Brady's involvement in facilitating the murder of Noel Kirwan, who was shot dead outside his home in Dublin in December 2016. Bernadette Roe, Kirwan's partner, told the court that her 'soulmate had his life extinguished' because he was photographed walking to the funeral of life-long neighbour, Eddie Hutch. Kirwan's daughter, Donna, stated that Brady and his co-defendants should have known her father was an innocent man. Gardai have confirmed that Kirwan was not involved in criminality and was targeted by the Kinahan cartel due to a false belief he might be linked to the Hutch organisation. Brady was caught on CCTV near a car dealership where a tracking device was removed from Kirwan's BMW and placed on his new Ford Mondeo. Gardai found a laptop used to communicate with the tracker and a toothbrush with DNA matching Brady. However, Det Supt Mark O'Neill confirmed that Brady's DNA was not found on the laptop and that there is no evidence he owned or operated it. Brady, who is already serving 11.5 years in prison for supervising a firearms arsenal and eight years and three months for laundering crime cash, was adjourned to April 30 to allow a probation report to be prepared. Previous Brady pleaded guilty in July 2019 to supervising a firearms arsenal and was sentenced to 11.5 years in prison with the final year suspended. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to laundering more than €400,000 in crime cash and was sentenced to eight years and three months with the final year suspended, in a term which was to run from April 2021.
A 59-year-old man has pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to twelve counts including rape, oral rape, and sexual assault committed against two victims over separate periods. The charges relate to offences occurring primarily in Dublin and Kildare, with one incident on the road between Sligo and Dublin. The first victim was between twelve and seventeen years old when abused from 1992 to 1997 by a family friend employed in her parents' business. The second victim, the niece of his former partner, was aged eleven to seventeen when assaulted between 2000 and 2006. Both complainants provided impact statements describing lasting psychological harm and the abuse of trust. The defendant acknowledged the serious aggravating factors, including the age disparity and exploitation of familial relationships. Mr Justice Tony Hunt adjourned sentencing to 8 April, noting the man will likely face community release following imprisonment and stating sex offenders require careful judicial scrutiny. The defendant remains in custody.
Patricia Kelly, 61, the widow of the late founder of the suicide‑prevention charity Console, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to keep proper books of account as a director between December 2006 and May 2015. The court found that 96 payments totalling €223,000 were traced to accounts controlled by her husband, Paul Kelly, who had died by suicide in 2020. The prosecution could not prove a wilful failure, so no custodial sentence was imposed. Judge Martin Nolan fined Kelly €1,500, to be paid within six months, and disqualified her as a director for five years. The charity, which received €2.03 million from the HSE between 2010 and 2016, is in liquidation and is subject to ongoing civil proceedings by its liquidator. The case highlighted a lack of cooperation with audits and the movement of records offsite. The fine was considered modest given Kelly's limited means and widow's pension.
In a 2024 decision, the Workplace Relations Commission found that Centz Discount Retail Holdings Ltd had discriminated against former in‑house counsel Sarah Treacy on the basis of gender and disability, and had failed to pay her wages and provide a constructive dismissal. The tribunal noted that Treacy's pro‑rata salary was lower than that of a male solicitor, Mr X, at several points in 2020 and 2021, and that the company delayed a promised salary increase until October 2021. Treacy also claimed the firm refused her request to work from home after an ADHD diagnosis, instead offering an unsuitable cash‑office role. The tribunal described the grievance investigation as superficial and biased, and concluded that the employer's conduct was intolerable.
Mamadou Alpha Bah, 27, was sentenced to six years in prison by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a violent sexual assault that occurred on 2 September 2020. The offence involved Bah chasing a 43‑year‑old woman through a hotel corridor after she had gone to his room, where he pinned her to a bed, threatened her, punched her, forced her to remove her clothes and sexually assaulted her through her clothing. He also attempted to force her legs open and followed her to the bathroom, where she escaped. CCTV footage captured the chase. Bah pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial and was found remorseful. He had no prior convictions at the time of the offence but had been convicted of sexual assault and false imprisonment in August 2021, receiving a five‑year sentence with one year suspended in October 2023.
In January 2023, Marian Calderas, a 39‑year‑old bin‑man employed by Key Waste Management Ltd, was found intoxicated at work on the Greenhills Road, Tallaght. After colleagues discovered he was drinking alcohol, they escorted him to the canteen where he slept. CCTV later showed Calderas, at 2.25 am, using a code to access a bin‑lorry room, then driving a 2017 bin lorry into three other lorries. The collisions caused €87,000, €38,000 and €49,000 in damage, totaling €175,998. Calderas pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal damage. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to three years' imprisonment, suspended in full, and ordered him to pay €5,000 immediately and €7,250 within a year. He was dismissed for gross misconduct and has no prior convictions. The case highlights the impact of alcohol‑related workplace incidents on both the employee and the employer.
Samy Taib, aged 22, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended for two years, for a series of offences including assault, coercive control, endangerment and dangerous driving. The court noted that Taib's victim endured significant psychological and physical harm, including permanent damage to her foot. Taib pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm, one count of coercive control, and several traffic offences. He was found to have a history of mental health issues, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after the offences, and was taking medication at sentencing. His defence argued that his undiagnosed mental state should have led to a greater reduction in the sentence. The Court of Appeal considered the mitigating factors but did not alter the imposed term, leaving the suspended portion and custodial period unchanged. The case remains at the appeal stage.
Adam Murphy, aged 22, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Ian McDonnell on 23 January 2022. Murphy and co‑accused Keith McCormick Smith, also 22, were involved in a spree of vehicle thefts. On the day in question, Murphy stole McDonnell's car while he was at work, drove off with McDonnell on the bonnet, and threw him from the bonnet onto the road where he died shortly after. The court heard CCTV footage of the incident and the subsequent disposal of McDonnell's vehicle. Judge Dara Hayes sentenced Murphy to 12 years' imprisonment, suspending the final 2½ years on strict conditions, and disqualified him from driving for 12 years. McCormick‑Smith received a three‑year, two‑month sentence, with the final 12 months suspended, and a seven‑year driving disqualification.
An accountant, Gerard Young, trading as Mara Young & Company, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing after NCS Autoparts Limited, its director Paul Lanigan and his wife Brenda Lanigan filed an injunction against him. The plaintiffs claim that Young is attempting to intimidate and harass them over an alleged €19,000 debt. They say that in early January, Martin 'the Viper' Foley, a convicted criminal, called their home and left a business card in an attempt to collect the debt on Young's behalf. Young has obtained a circuit court judgment against the plaintiffs but the plaintiffs are seeking to have that order set aside. The court adjourned the matter, with an undertaking that Foley will not communicate with the plaintiffs or attend their property until the case returns later this month. The plaintiffs also request an injunction restraining Young from instructing Foley or his debt‑recovery business to contact them.
A man named Michael Crotty, aged 41, admitted to facilitating the Kinahan Cartel by buying a mobile top‑up for Sean McGovern, a leading figure in the cartel, during a Special Criminal Court hearing. Crotty had previously pleaded not guilty to a charge related to the 2016 murder of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan, an innocent man mistakenly targeted by the cartel. In the hearing, Crotty pleaded guilty to a new charge of recklessness under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, stating he had no intention for the top‑up to be used in endangering anyone. The court noted that Kirwan was shot dead after the Regency Hotel attack, which had involved the cartel. The judge extended Crotty's bail and adjourned sentencing to April 22. The trial had been scheduled for up to five weeks and included testimony on the cartel's structure and activities.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Elva Duffy heard that Lee Byrne (23) and Sam Garvey (25) pleaded guilty to robbery on Phibsborough Road on 1 October 2022. The robbery involved a mobile phone taken from a cyclist who was then punched, threatened and struck with a bottle. The victim suffered bruising and swelling to the back of his head and reported lasting emotional distress. Byrne and Garvey were arrested after a search that recovered the stolen phone. Both men have prior convictions and have been in residential treatment for addiction. The judge noted their rehabilitation efforts but emphasised the robbery's profound effect on the victim. She adjourned the case to 20 January 2025, remanded them on bail, and said further positive steps would influence future sentencing. The hearing included the victim's impact statement and letters of remorse from the accused.
In a High Court case on 1 February 2024, the directors of NCS Autoparts Limited, Paul and Brenda Lanigan, alleged that chartered accountant Gerard Young, trading as Mara Young & Company, had hired convicted criminal Martin 'The Viper' Foley to collect an approximate €19,000 debt. The plaintiffs claim Foley's visits to their home, including leaving a business card, constituted intimidation. They seek an injunction preventing Young from instructing Foley or his debt‑recovery business to contact them. The court noted the alleged intimidation as "very intimidating" and granted the plaintiffs permission to serve short‑notice injunction proceedings on the defendant. The matter was set to return next week, with the judge expressing confidence that Foley would not call the plaintiffs' property until the next hearing. No orders were made at this stage. The case remains pending.
The 78‑year‑old widower John O'Neill, former owner of a Lisdoonvarna bed and breakfast, was found dead in his kitchen on 6 January 2024. Garda Louise Keogh and a colleague entered the house after a call about a suspected altercation the previous night. They discovered O'Neill's severely beaten body, with facial injuries, a pool of blood at the top of his head, a broken vase, a damaged laptop and scattered bank and social services cards. The scene suggested a "personal" killing. Witnesses identified Thomas Lorigan, 56, as the man who had stayed overnight at Lorigan's home the night before and who was later arrested for assault causing serious harm. Lorigan was detained at Ennis Garda Station after a DNA sample was taken. The case remains a murder investigation, with the prosecution presenting forensic evidence linking Lorigan to the assault and death of O'Neill. The trial has not yet concluded.
Kacper Koszarski, 23, faced a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing after a series of violent burglaries and high‑speed car chases. He pleaded guilty to 17 charges, including four counts of dangerous driving, four of trespass, one of endangerment, four of criminal damage, two of burglary, one of knife production and one of unauthorised vehicle taking. The court noted his 39 prior convictions, seven of them theft, and warned that a "sentence of some significance" would be imposed. Judge Elva Duffy adjourned the case to 22 March for a probation report, urine analysis and governor's report, remanding Koszarski in custody. The hearing covered incidents from a Maynooth burglary where a Renault Megane was taken and chased, to multiple garden trespasses in Dublin where knives were found. Koszarski's partner testified about their son with additional needs, and he expressed remorse and a desire for rehabilitation. The court considered his young age, addiction history and willingness to cooperate. The case remains pending.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, 33‑year‑old Daragh Houlihan pleaded guilty to robbery for an incident on 4 May 2021 in which he attacked his pregnant girlfriend, wrestled with her over a knife, pushed and kicked her, and stole her phone. The judge described his conduct as "utterly reprehensible" and noted the victim's pregnancy and the relationship's end. Houlihan's addiction to cocaine and heroin was cited as a mitigating factor. The court imposed a headline sentence of three years, reduced to two years and three months, and suspended the entire term for three years on strict conditions, including no contact with the victim and notification of any new intimate relationship. Houlihan agreed to participate in programs addressing intimate partner violence, anger management, and offence‑focused intervention. The victim's impact statement highlighted her fear and emotional distress following the assault. The case concluded with a fully suspended sentence and no custodial time.
Tadhg Keely, 19, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for stealing a Toyota Aqua from Belview Court, Blackrock, Co Dublin, and endangerment on the N81 Tallaght bypass. He pleaded guilty to these charges and further admitted to dangerous driving on the N7 in Naas, Co Kildare. Judge Martin Nolan described the incident as extremely dangerous, noting Keely's "disgraceful behaviour" when he drove through traffic cones, forcing a workman to "jump for his life." The court heard Keely led ten garda patrol cars on a 40-minute chase at speeds exceeding 160km/h, blowing two tyres and driving on the wrong side of the road. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with the final year suspended due to his young age, guilty plea, and difficult background. Judge Nolan disqualified Keely from driving for three years and ordered one year of probation supervision upon release. Keely, who has 36 previous convictions, was in State care at the time. The matter was finalised with this sentence.
In a High Court hearing on 25 January 2024, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey set aside a subpoena that had been issued by Paul Coyle to compel Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, to give evidence in a property dispute brought by Ken Fennell, James Anderson and Start Mortgages. The judge found the subpoena to be flawed, lacking a clear statement of the party requesting the evidence and the documents to be produced, and concluded it was an abuse of process. The Central Bank is not a party to the case, which seeks an injunction to vacate a property in Mullingar. The subpoena was described as a "fishing expedition" and a nullity. The application to set it aside was made by Shelly Horan BL for the bank, and Mr Coyle was not present at the hearing, being in the United States. The defendants did not object to the application.
Sean McGovern, injured in the 2016 Regency Hotel attack, is named in the Special Criminal Court as a senior leader of the Kinahan organised crime group. The court heard sworn testimony on the Kinahan cartel's command structure and activities, and evidence that 33 people linked to the organisation, who were "going to be involved in violence and murder," have been arrested by Gardaí. Detective Superintendent David Gallagher testified that the Kinahan group is driven by monetary gain, primarily through drug trafficking, and enforces control by violence, firearms and murder. He described the organisation as hierarchical, with a core in Dubai and cells in Europe and South America, noting a dramatic fall in violence since 2018. Gallagher confirmed McGovern's leadership role and that he is currently based in Dubai. The hearing also covered the murder of Noel Kirwan, mistakenly targeted by the Kinahans, and the prosecution of Michael Crotty for facilitating that murder. Michael Crotty pleaded not guilty.
William Connors, aged 30, pleaded guilty to providing false documents for a fake passport application. He supplied his birth certificate and other papers to a third party who used them to apply for a passport at a Garda station in Kildare in January 2020. The application was certified by a Garda who is now facing charges. The Passport Office detected that the photos did not match Connors' previous passport and launched an investigation. Connors has 19 prior convictions, all for road‑traffic offences. He was sentenced by Judge Martin Nolan to a two‑year term, suspended on conditions, after the court accepted his remorse and the minor nature of his earlier offences. The case is part of a broader investigation involving several co‑accused, including the certifying Garda, who are due to stand trial next year.
Mark Dolan, 49, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to masturbating in front of a child at a north Dublin address on 6 May last year. Judge Martin Nolan set a sentence date of 20 March and remanded Dolan on continuing bail until that date.
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan presented evidence that Christopher 'Noel' Kirwan, an innocent man with no criminal involvement, was shot six times and died from multiple gunshot wounds to his head, chest, arm and abdomen. The pathologist identified eight separate injuries caused by six bullets, including a bullet that entered Kirwan's chest, damaging the aorta and the lower lobe of the left lung, leading to heart and lung failure. Additional wounds to the chest, abdomen and right arm caused blood loss. A bullet entered Kirwan's head below the right eye, fracturing his upper jaw and lodging beneath the lower jaw. Toxicology tests were negative for drugs or alcohol. Michael Crotty, 40, is on trial for allegedly facilitating Kirwan's murder by topping up a mobile phone for Sean McGovern; Crotty pleaded not guilty to the single charge.
A 40‑year‑old man with no prior convictions, Michael Crotty, is on trial before the Special Criminal Court for allegedly topping up a prepaid mobile phone that was used in the murder of Christopher 'Noel' Kirwan, who was mistakenly linked to the Regency Hotel shooting. Crotty pleaded not guilty. The prosecution alleges he purchased a top‑up for the third phone at a Spar shop in Naas on 21 December 2016, the day before Kirwan's murder. They claim he knew or was reckless about the phone's potential use in a serious crime. Crotty was arrested in March 2021 and questioned by Gardaí. He is charged under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act for participating or contributing to the murder of Kirwan. The court will consider a media application regarding a party named only as AB in evidence. The trial is ongoing.
In a murder trial, the State presented evidence that 79‑year‑old widower John O'Neill was killed by his nephew Thomas Lorigan, 34, who allegedly repeatedly kicked him to the head with steel‑capped boots. The prosecution described O'Neill as a fit, healthy man who had lived alone after his wife's death and had recently run a bed and breakfast. On the night of 6 January 2022, O'Neill returned home after drinking and was attacked by Lorigan, who was described as "Mossy" and living in a derelict house. Witness Walter Burke testified that Lorigan left his house after an argument with O'Neill, and emergency services found O'Neill dead in the kitchen the next morning. The State's pathologist reported severe blunt‑force trauma to O'Neill's face, consistent with multiple kicks. CCTV footage showed a man assaulting another outside the B&B, with the attacker later seen heading toward Burke's house. Thomas Lorigan pleaded not guilty.
Michael Crotty, 41, of Aras na Rí, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of facilitating a criminal organisation in the murder of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan, 62, who was shot six times in his car on 22 December 2016 at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. The charge alleges that between 20 October 2016 and 22 December 2016, Crotty participated in or contributed to the commission of the murder while aware of the existence of a criminal organisation, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act. The trial, scheduled to last up to five weeks, will commence at the Special Criminal Court on Wednesday. Crotty's co‑accused, Declan Brady, 57, a senior Kinahan cartel member, pleaded guilty to the same charge and will also appear on Wednesday for sentencing. Brady was previously sentenced to 11.5 years in prison, with the final year suspended, for firearms offences and money‑laundering.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced four men for money laundering offences linked to €121,000 stolen from a Dublin solicitors' firm via invoice redirect fraud. Judge Martin Nolan warned that the court is "totally fed up" with young money mules using "stupidity as a shield" and stated that those providing bank details after January 2022 face potential custody. Cameron Fanning, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering and one count of giving false information to gardaí. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, suspended in full on strict conditions. The judge noted the court would not use Fanning as a "sacrificial lamb" given his reckless but believable explanation. Mubarak Salawu, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and possessing €600 Balenciaga runners bought with proceeds of crime; he received a suspended two-year prison sentence. Olumide Lawal, 27, admitted to two counts of money laundering and possession of an iPhone bought with proceeds of crime; he was also given a suspended two-year prison sentence. Aaron Clancy, 21, pleaded guilty to possessing €3,020 in proceeds of money laundering and a further unrelated count of possessing €4,650 in proceeds of crime; he received a suspended two-year prison sentence. The judge noted that for Salawu, Lawal, and Clancy, the amounts involved were lower and all three were young men with their "futures in front of them".
In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 12 January 2024, Declan 'Mr Nobody' Brady, aged 56, pleaded guilty to a single charge of aiding the Kinahan cartel in the murder of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan, an innocent man shot six times on 22 December 2016. Brady admitted that between 20 October and 22 December 2016 he participated in or facilitated the commission of the murder while aware of the cartel's existence. He will appear again next Wednesday for a sentencing hearing. Brady's co‑accused, Michael Crotty, 40, was due to trial but the case was adjourned to Monday morning to allow him to consult his lawyers. Brady has previously pleaded guilty in 2019 to supervising a firearms arsenal and in 2021 to laundering over €400,000 in crime cash, receiving 11.5 years with the final year suspended. The court noted that Kirwan's murder was "disturbing" as it appeared to be a targeted killing with no criminal motive.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Adam Murphy, aged 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after he threw businessman Ian McDonnell from the bonnet of McDonnell's own car while attempting to steal it. Murphy also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of vehicle theft, attempted vehicle theft, property theft and possession of stolen property. His co‑accused, Keith McCormick Smith, also pleaded guilty to similar offences. The court heard that McDonnell was stopped at his business, Ozone Car Sales, and that Murphy and Smith had stolen several cars earlier that day. CCTV footage showed Murphy driving McDonnell's car, accelerating, and throwing McDonnell 46 metres before the car was abandoned. McDonnell was taken to Tallaght Hospital but died on 28 January 2022. The court noted the maximum sentence for manslaughter is life, but the Director of Public Prosecutions suggested a 10‑15 year range. The case was adjourned for finalisation on 12 February.
In a High Court ruling, Smullen Logistic Solutions Ltd lost its application for an injunction against Goldstein Property ICAV regarding a disputed right of access to its Newhall, Co Kildare site. Mr Justice David Nolan refused the request, stating that damages would be an adequate remedy for the neighbourly dispute, which must be resolved at a full hearing. The judge characterised the application as tactical, noting it followed cease-and-desist letters sent by the defendant. Costs were awarded against the plaintiff, with no stay on the order. The court noted the decision may be appealed to the Court of Appeal. Smullen alleged that Goldstein locked a gate essential for its 250 trucks and containers, causing ongoing losses, while claiming exclusive use of the roadway until November 27. Goldstein denied wrongdoing, arguing no such roadway existed and presenting Ordnance Survey maps to support its position. The defendant contended the action was launched after Smullen began bulldozing works on disputed land and that alternative access routes were available. The matter remains subject to potential appeal, with the underlying ownership dispute pending a full hearing.
At the Central Criminal Court, Matthew Cummins appeared on appeal regarding the reactivation of his suspended sentence. The State sought to activate the two-year suspended portion of his nine-year term, which was imposed in September 2021 for impeding the apprehension of an offender. This followed Cummins' guilty plea and sentencing on December 5 last year at Tullamore Circuit Criminal Court, where he received two-and-a-half years' imprisonment for criminal damage, with the final year suspended. Cummins, who has 69 previous convictions, had previously admitted to helping Sean Davy, a convicted murderer, by attempting to burn the victim's body to destroy evidence. James Davy, Cummins' co-accused in the original 2014 incident, also had his murder conviction overturned in 2021 and was re-sentenced to nine years with two suspended. Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford revoked the two-year suspension but substituted it with a one-year jail term, backdated to December 5 last, with no portion suspended. She noted Cummins' good behaviour and course completion in prison, granting him a further chance despite his high risk of reoffending. Sean Davy remains serving a life sentence for murder.
Patricia Kelly, 61, widow of the late Paul Kelly, founder of the suicide‑prevention charity Console, pleaded guilty before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of failing to keep books of account as a director of the company, contrary to the Companies Act 1990. She admitted that, other than wilfully, she did not maintain proper records of the company's transactions, which are required to determine its financial position accurately and to allow directors to compile annual accounts and enable proper audit. The offence took place between 6 December 2006 and 21 May 2015. The case was originally scheduled for trial next month, with a potential duration of up to ten weeks, but was adjourned to a sentencing hearing on 20 February 2024, later amended to 22 February 2024, with Ms Kelly remanded on bail until that date.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Owen Flood, aged 29, pleaded guilty to two robbery offences committed in February and March 2020. The first involved forcibly taking a Volkswagen Golf car key from a nine‑year‑old boy and driving the vehicle away; the car, valued at about €15,000, was never recovered. The second offence saw Flood and another man rob a man outside a post office in Celbridge, stealing €180 from his social welfare payment; the victim's money was also not recovered. Flood, who has 55 prior convictions and is homeless with drug and mental‑health issues, was sentenced to four years and eight months' imprisonment, with the final eight months suspended to encourage rehabilitation. No victim impact statements were presented, and the court noted Flood's remorse and cooperation with authorities. The case highlights the seriousness of robbery involving a child and the impact of repeated offending.
Sharon Hickey, 45, of Kilmainham, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to possessing 2.9kg of heroin for sale or supply outside the Lamplighter pub in Dublin 8 on April 12, 2022. She appeared before Judge Elma Sheahan in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where she admitted to the charge. Gardaí reported that Hickey was intercepted after receiving a bag containing the drugs and €500 in cash from co-accused Gregory Dunne. During interview, Hickey stated she was instructed to find a hiding place for the drugs to settle a drug debt, for which she was to be paid €500 and have her debt reduced. Her defence counsel highlighted her difficult childhood, addiction struggles, and a certificate in addiction studies, urging leniency. Hickey has one previous conviction for larceny from the 1990s. Judge Sheahan adjourned the case for finalisation on January 12, 2024. Co-accused Gregory Dunne, 39, of Dublin 7, had previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. In October, Judge Sheahan sentenced Dunne to eight years' imprisonment, with the final year suspended on strict conditions.
Paul Wells Snr, aged 55, was convicted of murder after shooting Kenneth O'Brien in the back of the head and dismembering him with a chainsaw, disposing of the torso in a suitcase found in the Grand Canal. He claimed self‑defence, arguing he shot O'Brien when the gun fell and he feared being shot. His lawyers argued the trial judge's charge to the jury was incoherent and that the burden of proof was reversed. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, stating the judge had adequately instructed the jury on self‑defence and that no fundamental injustice had occurred. Wells was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2018, with no mention of a suspended portion or effective custody in the article. The case involved the discovery of O'Brien's torso and other body parts in the canal, and a history of financial transfers between the parties. The appeal was rejected in its entirety.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, Gerry Daly, 57, was found not guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin, 39, in a fatal M50 collision on 24 January 2019. The jury, after six hours and fifty minutes of deliberation, accepted the defence's argument that Daly's type‑one diabetes had severely impaired his judgment, preventing a conscious decision to drive. Expert testimony from a consultant endocrinologist who had supervised Daly for over a decade confirmed that his blood glucose was well below normal, likely causing confusion and a loss of consciousness. Evidence indicated Daly's vehicle was travelling between 138 and 151 km/h at the time of the crash, which involved a high‑speed collision with a truck and a subsequent roll‑over of Griffin's car, resulting in catastrophic head injuries and her instant death.
The jury in the trial of Gerry Daly, 57, of Derby Lodge, Brownstown, The Curragh, Kildare, has begun deliberations after the court heard that Daly was charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin, 39, at junction five of the M50 on 24 January 2019. The prosecution alleged that Daly's collision forced Griffin into crash barriers, resulting in her instant death from catastrophic head injuries. Daly pleaded not guilty. In his closing speech, defence counsel Roderick O'Hanlon argued that Daly was in an autonomous condition due to diabetes and extremely low blood sugar, which he claimed impaired brain function and awareness at the time of the crash. O'Hanlon said Daly could not have known where he was or what had happened. Prosecuting counsel Garnet Orange countered that the automatism defence was unsuitable, noting that Daly had known how to manage his diabetes and had failed to take simple precautions to avoid the danger.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Gerry Daly, 57, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin on the M50. Defence counsel Roderick O'Hanlon argued that Daly was in an autonomous condition due to severe hypoglycaemia from his long‑term diabetes, claiming he could not consciously control his driving. O'Hanlon cited medical evidence of low blood glucose impairing brain function and described Daly as unaware of his surroundings. Prosecutor Garnet Orange countered that the automatism defence was unsuitable, noting Daly's knowledge of his condition and failure to take precautions. The jury heard a post‑mortem report stating Griffin died from catastrophic head injuries after her car was struck from the rear, CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts of a fast‑moving vehicle, and Dr Kevin Moore's expert testimony on Daly's impaired cognition. The case remains at the jury's deliberation stage.
In the trial of Gerry Daly, 57, who pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin on the M50, Dr Kevin Moore, a consultant endocrinologist, testified that Daly did not make a conscious decision to drive that day. Dr Moore explained that Daly, who has Type 1 diabetes, had been managing his condition for over ten years and had self‑funded a continuous glucose monitor. He argued that Daly's blood glucose levels were severely low, leading to hypoglycaemic symptoms such as confusion and disorientation. According to Dr Moore, this severe cognitive impairment meant Daly could not understand or control his actions, including driving. He further noted that Daly's recollection of the morning would be unreliable and that his behaviour after the crash was abnormal, reflecting his impaired state. The trial continues before Judge Elma Sheahan and the jury.
In a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Gerry Daly, 57, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin, 39, in a fatal M50 collision on 24 January 2019. Sergeant Patrick McElroy, a forensic collision investigator, presented evidence that Daly's Toyota Auris had been travelling at 138‑151 km/h, struck a Scania lorry, then collided with Griffin's VW Polo, causing her head to be severed. McElroy's report detailed the sequence of impacts and the vehicle's continued movement. Garda Aidan McHugh testified that Daly had a voluntary interview on 28 January, described checking his blood sugar, and had a phone call at 10:30 am that morning. Professor Simon Heller, a diabetes specialist, testified that Daly's glucose levels fell from 9.3 to 3.3 mmol/L during the morning, potentially causing hypoglycaemic episodes and "in and out of consciousness." The trial continues before Judge Elma Sheahan.
A 17‑year‑old, Ogaga Ogheneyoma, was fined €500 and ordered to be of good behaviour in lieu of a 12‑month sentence for allowing his AIB bank account to hold €31,842 of laundered money in an invoice redirect fraud. He pleaded guilty on the day of his trial at Dublin Circuit Court on 19 November 2018. Ogheneyoma, now 22, is a fourth‑year accounting and finance student at TU Dublin, lives with his parents in Lucan, and has worked part‑time throughout college. The court noted he had no previous convictions, no evidence of involvement in the fraud, and had a pro‑social life since the offence. Judge Orla Crowe invoked Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, imposed the fine, and deferred the sentence, ordering him to pay the fine before a mention in May 2024, after which he will be discharged.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, the jury heard that the death of 39‑year‑old Jacqueline Griffin on the M50 on 24 January 2019 was caused by catastrophic head injuries after her vehicle was struck from the rear by a black car travelling at high speed. The accused, 57‑year‑old Gerry Daly of Kildare, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing death. A doctor's report read at the hearing described the scene: a vehicle on its side, a decapitated head on the road, and a body in the rear. A post‑mortem confirmed the head injuries. Witnesses, including truck driver Joseph Dunne and passenger Judith Ryan, described the collision and Daly's hypoglycaemic episode. Daly was treated on scene for low blood sugar, given glucose, and taken to hospital. The case remains before Judge Elma Sheahan and a jury.
Jordan Keogh, a 27‑year‑old from Clondalkin, was on bail when he repeatedly moved cash, a handgun and ammunition for an organised gang. In February 2020 he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for possession of €172,950 in crime cash, a semi‑automatic pistol, ammunition and drugs for sale. The original sentence comprised 3.5 years for two money‑laundering offences (concurrent), 2 years for cannabis possession (consecutive), and 1.5 years for the firearm offence with one year suspended, totalling seven years with 12 months suspended. The State appealed, arguing the judge had been too lenient, especially for the firearms offence. The Court of Appeal quashed the original sentences and re‑sentenced Keogh to nine years: 2 years for drugs, 3 years for the first money‑laundering offence (concurrent), 3 years for the second money‑laundering offence with 2 years suspended (consecutive), and 5 years for the firearms offences (consecutive). Jordan Keogh pleaded guilty.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, Gerry Daly, 57, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the instantaneous death of Jacqueline Griffin, 39, on the M50 on 24 January 2019. Witnesses described Daly's vehicle as travelling at high speed, weaving in and out of traffic, and veering across the hard shoulder before colliding with Griffin's car. The prosecution argued that the collision was ferocious, causing Griffin's vehicle to roll over and her immediate death. Daly was also reported to have been a type‑one diabetic with a related medical condition that impaired his control of the vehicle. CCTV footage and multiple motorists' testimonies were presented, all indicating that Daly's driving was dangerous and that the accident caused Griffin's death. The case remains before Judge Elma Sheahan and a jury.