Court archive

Court reports mentioning Louisburgh, Mayo

2016-05-12 · Dublin

Murderer who claimed gardai had confession "agenda" fails in appeal

Bryan Ryan (31) of Louisburgh, Co. Mayo, has had his appeal against conviction for murder dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Ryan was convicted in 2013 of the murder of Ian Tobin at Fortlawn Park, Blanchardstown, on May 27, 2007. A jury at the Central Criminal Court returned a majority guilty verdict, and the mandatory life sentence was imposed in March 2013. Ryan's legal team had argued that gardaí possessed "an agenda" to obtain a confession and that admissions made during garda interviews should have been excluded from evidence. Mr Justice George Birmingham, delivering judgment today alongside two other judges, found the trial judge was best positioned to assess these matters and had properly viewed all video evidence. The court upheld the trial judge's findings that Ryan was not oppressed and admissions were not involuntary. The Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction as safe and rejected all grounds of appeal.

2015-12-10 · Dublin

Gardaí had "agenda" to obtain confession from murder convict "no matter what", appeal court told

Bryan Ryan, aged 31, originally from Blanchardstown but with an address in Louisburgh, County Mayo, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Ian Tobin in May 2007. Ryan was convicted by majority verdict at the Central Criminal Court in 2013 after initially being convicted in 2008, a conviction later quashed. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, Ryan's counsel argued that gardaí pursued an agenda to secure a confession by improper means, including misrepresenting the law on manslaughter and overstating evidence. Counsel submitted the confession was unreliable, particularly as Ryan confessed to burning motorcycle parts and clothing that forensic evidence did not support. The defence further contended that alleged constitutional breaches during interviews could not be remedied by a brief conversation with his solicitor. The Director of Public Prosecutions' counsel maintained the core evidence came from a protected witness and that the confession was properly obtained. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment.