Court archive
Court reports mentioning Ballyroan, Laois
2018-01-17 · Kilkenny
Patrick McDonnell, 28, of New Line Close, Mountrath, was sentenced to five years in prison after a series of drug‑related offences and dangerous driving. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cocaine for sale or supply, dangerous driving and reckless endangerment at Castlecomer on 27 January 2017, and to possession of cannabis and cocaine at Ballyroan on 16 January 2016. During a drug bust near the Kilkenny/Laois border, gardaí found 300 g of cocaine in a tupperware container. McDonnell fled, driving his car at speeds up to 100 km/h, crashing into a garda vehicle and injuring two officers. He also crashed into a car exiting a driveway. The court noted his history of drug offences and his statement to a garda that he had "not done anything". Judge Martin Nolan imposed the five‑year sentence, citing the reckless conduct and the injuries caused to the officers.
2015-05-01 · Laois
The Commercial Court has dismissed a legal challenge brought by People Over Wind and Environmental Action Alliance Ireland against An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant planning permission for a wind farm in the Midlands. The applicants sought to quash the Board's June 13th decision allowing Coillte Teoranta to construct 18 wind turbines near Cullenagh, Co Laois. They alleged the Board failed to conduct a proper environmental impact assessment, did not provide adequate reasons for its decision, and ignored Laois County Council's refusal and the Board's inspector's recommendation to refuse permission. An Bord Pleanala rejected these claims, arguing its decision should remain undisturbed. Coillte Teoranta, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and Laois County Council were notice parties. In a detailed judgment, Mr Justice Robert Haughton dismissed all grounds of the claim. He found that the Board carried out a proper appropriate assessment that engaged with all observations and included sufficient findings and analysis. The judge also rejected submissions that the Board failed to assess the development using the best scientific knowledge available or materially contravened the Co Laois development plan. Following his decision, the judge adjourned the matter to a date later this month to allow the parties to digest his decision.
2014-05-23 · Laois
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.
2014-05-13 · Laois
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.