A State forensic psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court that a Mayo man was voluntarily intoxicated when he killed two elderly brothers with special needs, causing him to behave in an extremely impulsive and violent manner. Dr Brenda Wright testified that the 30-year-old defendant, from Ballina, did not have a mental disorder in law at the time of the offences on 10th July 2013 in Castlebar. This contradicted evidence from a defence psychiatrist, who had argued the accused suffered from three mental disorders that diminished his responsibility. The defendant has admitted killing the brothers but pleaded not guilty to murder. Under cross-examination, Dr Wright acknowledged the accused had experienced significant anger and behavioural difficulties from early childhood, predating any substance use. She maintained, however, that personality disorders do not constitute mental disorders under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006. The trial continues at the Central Criminal Court.
A forensic psychiatrist for the State has told the Central Criminal Court that a Co Mayo man accused of murder did not have mental disorders recognised in law, despite having personality disorders at the time of the alleged killings. The 30-year-old from Ballina has admitted killing two elderly brothers with special needs but pleaded not guilty to their murder on 10th July 2013 in Castlebar. Dr Brenda Wright testified that while she agreed with the defence psychiatrist's diagnosis of emotionally unstable and antisocial personality disorders, these did not qualify as mental disorders under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006. She stated that qualifying mental disorders must impair a person's capacity to make decisions or understand relevant information, which personality disorders do not. Dr Wright also disputed the defence evidence that the accused had ADHD at the time, saying she found no supporting behaviour in garda interview recordings. Her evidence continues before Justice Paul Coffey and jury.
A consultant psychiatrist has testified at the Central Criminal Court that a 30-year-old man accused of killing two elderly brothers in Castlebar was suffering from three mental disorders that diminished his responsibility for the offences. Dr Pawan Rajpal told the jury that Alan Cawley, of Four Winds, Corrinbla, Ballina, had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, and Antisocial Personality Disorder. Mr Cawley has admitted killing Thomas Blaine, aged 69, and John Blaine, aged 76, on 10th July 2013 at New Antrim Street in Castlebar, but pleaded not guilty to murder. Dr Rajpal stated that all three conditions would have substantially diminished the accused man's ability to control impulses and learn from mistakes. Forensic evidence presented by the prosecution detailed extensive blood staining patterns at the scene, indicating both brothers were attacked whilst in vulnerable positions. The trial before Mr Justice Paul Coffey continues.
A man from Ballina, County Mayo, has admitted killing two disabled brothers but denies murder charges relating to their deaths in Castlebar on 10 July 2013. The 30-year-old defendant is on trial at the Central Criminal Court, charged with murdering Thomas Blaine and Jack Blaine. During proceedings, gardaí testimony revealed the accused's account of the incident, including claims he inflicted injuries because he suspected the brothers were child molesters. The State Pathologist's post-mortem examination documented extensive trauma to both victims, including skull fractures, blunt force injuries, and scalding. The pathologist characterised the assault as displaying "overkill", with violence far exceeding what was necessary to cause death. Evidence suggested the initial attack occurred while one victim lay in bed, with injuries consistent with defensive attempts. The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Coffey and jury.
A man is on trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with the murder of two elderly brothers found beaten to death in their Castlebar home in July 2013. The accused, aged 30 and from Ballina, Co Mayo, has admitted killing the brothers but pleaded not guilty to murder. Evidence heard during the trial revealed that hours before the deaths, the defendant claimed to be a medical student and told people in a local public house that he worked in the mortuary and would conduct post-mortems on any bodies discovered that night. He also made allegations against another man present in the establishment, suggesting he posed a threat to his wife. Witnesses testified that the brothers were known as harmless and quiet members of the Castlebar community. One barman recalled regularly delivering tea to the brothers and witnessing the defendant in their company on the night in question. The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Coffey and a jury.
A carer became emotional while testifying at the Central Criminal Court as she described discovering the bloodied bodies of two elderly brothers at their Castlebar home in July 2013. Helen Maloney, who had provided care to Thomas and John Blaine for approximately nine years, told the court she found Thomas in his bedroom saturated with blood and later located John outside the rear of the property, also covered in blood. A garda witness noted that pieces of skin appeared to have been removed from John Blaine's stomach. Alan Cawley, aged 30 and of Four Winds, Corrinbla, Ballina, stands trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with their murder. He has admitted killing both men but pleads not guilty to the murder charge relating to the deaths on 10th July 2013. CCTV evidence placed him entering the brothers' home at midnight, departing approximately one hour later. The court heard Cawley had been released from prison days before the incident. The trial continues.
A 30-year-old man from Ballina has gone on trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with the murder of two elderly brothers who died in a violent assault at their Castlebar home in July 2013. Alan Cawley has pleaded not guilty to murdering Thomas Blaine and John Blaine at New Antrim Street, Castlebar. The State's case, opened by Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, centres on whether the deaths constitute murder or manslaughter. The brothers were discovered by their home help, with one found in his bedroom and the other in a rear courtyard. The State Pathologist found both men sustained severe blunt force trauma, with Thomas Blaine suffering extensive head, chest and facial injuries, and Jack Blaine, who had speech and hearing impairments, also receiving a scalding injury. Defence counsel subsequently admitted on the accused's behalf that he caused both deaths. The trial before Mr Justice Paul Coffey continues next week.
A 30-year-old man from Ballina in County Mayo appeared before the Central Criminal Court to face trial on charges of murdering two elderly brothers. Alan Cawley of Four Winds, Corrinbla pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in relation to deaths that occurred four years prior. The charges were brought on 10th July 2013 following an incident at New Antrim Street in Castlebar. Justice Isobel Kennedy empanelled a jury of four women and eight men to hear the case. The trial, scheduled to run for between ten and twelve working days, commenced before Mr Justice Paul Coffey.
A man with 96 previous convictions has failed in his appeal against a sentence for criminal damage imposed at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court. Anthony Foody, aged 37, from Greenhills Estate in Ballina, Co Mayo, pleaded guilty to criminal damage at a house in Ballina on 19 May 2015. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended by Judge Rory McCabe on 29 October 2015. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against sentence on 9 June 2016, with the three-judge court finding the term imposed fell within the discretion of the trial judge. The court noted Foody's extensive criminal history and poor rehabilitation prospects. Justice Alan Mahon observed that the suspended portion of the sentence was designed as an incentive for reform. The appeal was dismissed without error identified in principle.
A man from Erris, County Mayo, will face a retrial following the Court of Appeal's decision to quash his careless driving conviction. Brendan Hegarty, aged 51, had been convicted at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court of careless driving causing serious injury arising from a road traffic incident on the N59 near Ballina on 14 October 2013. He had been fined €5,000 and disqualified from driving for twelve months. Mr Hegarty appealed his conviction, challenging whether proper statutory procedures governing majority jury verdicts had been followed. The Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently advised the Court of Appeal that it would not be defending the conviction. Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with two colleagues, found sufficient doubt over the majority verdict to quash the conviction and ordered a retrial. The original incident involved a collision between a Volkswagen Transporter van driven by Mr Hegarty and a Ford Transit van driven by another motorist.
Mark Nash has been found guilty of murdering two women at sheltered accommodation in Grangegorman, Dublin, in March 1997. A Central Criminal Court jury returned a unanimous verdict after deliberating for over four hours on Monday, 20 April 2015. The trial lasted 48 days, during which 71 witnesses gave evidence. Nash, 42, originally from England with Dublin addresses, had pleaded not guilty to the murders of Sylvia Sheils, aged 59, and Mary Callanan, aged 61. The prosecution's case rested on admissions made by Nash, forensic evidence including DNA found on his jacket, and a caterpillar boot print discovered at the scene. Nash is already serving a life sentence for murders committed in Ballintober, Castlerea, County Roscommon, in August 1997. Mr Justice Carroll Moran imposed a life sentence for the Grangegorman murders. The case had remained unsolved for eighteen years before a DNA breakthrough in 2009 led to Nash's formal charging in October of that year.
At the Central Criminal Court, a jury heard statements from the former partner of Mark Nash, who is charged with the murder of two women in March 1997. Nash, aged 42, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Sylvia Shields and Mary Callanan between March 6 and 7, 1997. State counsel read two statements from Sarah Jane Doyle, describing how she met Nash in a Dublin nightclub in late March 1997 and subsequently began a relationship with him. The court heard Nash claimed to have family connections in Ballina, County Mayo. The second statement was taken after Doyle received a letter from Nash whilst receiving treatment at Beaumont Hospital, following an assault at a house in Ballintober, County Roscommon on August 16, 1997. A handwriting expert from An Garda Síochána testified that letters attributed to Nash displayed consistent characteristics and were written fluently without hesitation or disguise. The trial continues.
A Mayo man has failed in his appeal against a six-year prison sentence imposed for dangerous driving that caused serious injury to his front seat passenger, though the Court of Appeal has reduced his driving disqualification from twenty years to twelve years. Martin Kearney, aged 33, from Ballina, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious harm arising from an incident on 30 September 2010 near Sligo Town. Kearney had driven a BMW M3 at speeds exceeding 150 kilometres per hour over a distance of 2.6 kilometres before losing control. The vehicle mounted barriers, somersaulted, and came to rest 80 to 100 metres beyond the road surface. His front seat passenger sustained devastating injuries requiring twenty-four-hour care. Kearney himself sustained considerable injuries. Sentencing him in June 2012 at Sligo Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Justice Tony Hunt imposed four years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended and imposed a twenty-year driving ban.
The Court of Criminal Appeal has declined to order a retrial of two nightclub doormen whose assault convictions were previously quashed. Frankie Murphy, aged 44, of Stephen Street, Sligo, and John Molloy, aged 33, of Creggs Road, Ballina, County Mayo, had been found guilty in October 2011 by Sligo Circuit Criminal Court of assault causing harm following an incident at Envy nightclub on 18 February 2009. The victim lost part of one finger when an entrance door was closed against him. The appeal court found the convictions unsafe and set them aside last month. Although the Director of Public Prosecutions sought a retrial, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled that weaknesses in key prosecution witness evidence and the considerable time elapsed since the alleged offence made a retrial inappropriate. The court identified deficiencies in how the trial judge charged the jury regarding self-defence, accident, and joint enterprise. Costs were awarded to Mr Molloy.
The Court of Criminal Appeal has set aside the convictions of two nightclub doormen from Sligo and Co Mayo who were sentenced in 2011 for assault causing harm. Frankie Murphy of Stephen Street, Sligo, and John Molloy of Creggs Road, Ballina had each received three-year suspended sentences and were ordered to pay €10,000 following their conviction by Sligo Circuit Criminal Court jury in October 2011. The incident occurred in February 2009 at Envy nightclub in Sligo town, resulting in serious injury to the complainant. On appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal found that the trial judge's charge to the jury had failed to adequately address the separate defences raised by each defendant, including self-defence and accident. Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled that the convictions were unsafe and should be quashed. The State indicated it would seek further instructions regarding the matter, with the case listed for mention at a future date.