Court archive
Court reports mentioning Oldcastle, Meath
2022-06-28 · Westmeath
Abuse Survivor Aoife Farrelly has waived her anonymity to allow her brother, Cian Farrelly (30), to be named in connection with the rape and sexual assault of his sister at the family home in Castlepollard, Co Westmeath, between 2007 and 2009. Farrelly pleaded guilty to the charges at the Central Criminal Court. The victim, who was aged between seven and eight and a half at the time of the abuse, while Farrelly was aged between 15 and a half and 17 years old, described the impact of the abuse on her life, including self-harm, disordered eating, anxiety, stress, and OCD. She stated that she had undergone counselling, psychotherapy, and inpatient treatment for PTSD. During the sentencing hearing, Mr Justice Paul McDermott noted that Ms Farrelly's childhood was destroyed and she was deeply affected by the abuse. He handed down a four-and-a-half year sentence and suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions, including that Farrelly have no contact of any kind with his sister. Speaking outside court, Ms Farrelly said she was pleased with the sentence that was handed down, saying that the headline sentence the judge mentioned was 'enough' for her. The matter was adjourned for the submission of reports, including a probation report and a report from forensic psychological services. Cian Farrelly took the stand at the end of the hearing to apologise to his sister.
2022-01-20 · Dublin
Two men have been jailed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following their conviction for transporting a sawn-off shotgun in the Balbriggan area on 25 September 2020. Thomas McDonagh, aged 36, of Oldcastle Drive, Clondalkin, and William Ward, aged 25, of Owendoher Haven, Ballyboden, both pleaded guilty to possession of the firearm. The men attempted to flee at high speed after gardaí signalled them to stop, prompting a pursuit during which two children were forced to take evasive action. Armed gardaí ultimately apprehended both defendants following a foot chase. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a sentence of three-and-a-half years imprisonment on McDonagh, noting he was conveyed the firearm by a relative. Ward received two-and-a-half years imprisonment, with the judge taking account of his age and mental health difficulties. Both men's early guilty pleas allowed the judge to depart from the mandatory minimum sentence of five years. The court heard there was no evidence the defendants intended to use the weapon.
2019-10-14 · Meath
Edward Stokes, aged 25, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for endangerment and dangerous driving after a high‑speed chase in Clondalkin and Ballyfermot. On 3 October 2016, Stokes drove through a red light, over a Luas line, and attempted to ram a Garda patrol car, forcing the officers to take evasive action. He then drove into a traveller's site, crashed into a bollard, and fled into an attic where he was arrested. Stokes had 23 prior convictions, including violent disorder and driving offences, and was disqualified from driving at the time of the offence. The court noted his medical condition (necrotising pancreatitis) and his expressed remorse. Judge Cormac Quinn imposed a three‑year sentence, suspending the final 18 months on strict conditions. Edward Stokes pleaded guilty.
2017-10-31 · Dublin
Real IRA leader Seamus McGrane was bugged by the Gardai as he plotted in a well-known Dublin pub with another man to carry out an operation involving explosives during the run-up to the State visit of Prince Charles two years ago. The Garda National Surveillance Unit planted a sophisticated listening device in the snug of the Coachman's Inn on the Airport Road, which recorded conversations between McGrane – a founder of the Real IRA – and engineering graduate Donal O'Coisdealbha. McGrane (63), from Dromisikin in Co Louth, is only the second person to be convicted of directing a terrorist organisation in the State. His former colleague and fellow founder of the Real IRA Michael McKevitt was jailed for 20 years in 2003 for directing terrorism between August 1999 and October 2000. He was released from prison in 2016. During McGrane's trial at the Special Criminal Court, during which there was no cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, the court heard recordings of the conversations between McGrane and O'Coisdealbha in April, 2015. McGrane told O'Coisdealbha: 'Go with whatever plan you wish. I think he's coming on the 19th (a reference to Prince Charles). I don't like an embarrassment.' McGrane then mentioned 'military significance.' 'Symbolic,' O'Coisdealbha replied. 'Symbolic is right,' replied McGrane. The two men were heard in the recording of April 19th discussing a location 'around 400 metres from the target.' Detective Sergeant Padraig Boyce said that the location being discussed was approximately 400 metres from the Cross of Sacrifice, a monument in Glasnevin Cemetery commemorating British and Irish soldiers who fought in World War 1. The two men were also recorded discussing a bomb found on a train line in Northern Ireland in February 2015 and an attack on MI5 Headquarters in London in April, 2010. The court also heard that gardai found bomb making components in a field adjacent to McGrane's house. McGrane was jailed for four years by the Special Criminal Court in 2001 after he pleaded guilty to training others in the use of firearms.
2017-02-20 · Dublin
Thomas Stokes, 23, of Clondalkin, Dublin, was sentenced to six years in prison at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to six sample charges, including robbery and possession of an imitation firearm, committed between July 15 and July 25, 2016. Judge Melanie Greally suspended the final 18 months of the sentence on strict conditions. Prosecution evidence detailed a ten-day crime spree during which Stokes allegedly robbed a total of €1,157 and a mobile phone, threatening victims with a toy gun and a steel bollard. He admitted to gardaí that he committed the offences to pay a €2,200 drug debt after his family's trailer was threatened. The final victim, a 66-year-old shop owner, closed his family-run business days later due to fear of further attacks. Stokes was identified via CCTV footage showing a distinct tattoo. Judge Greally noted the escalating seriousness of the crimes and the lingering menace felt by the victim, while accepting that the offences were motivated by Stokes's drug addiction and family pressures. She acknowledged his genuine remorse and that the actions were out of character for a man from a law-abiding family. Stokes has also been sentenced in the District Court for an earlier theft that preceded the robberies. No injuries were reported during the incidents.
2017-02-06 · Meath
Vincent Cadden, aged 28, was convicted of dangerous driving causing the death of his friend Colm Melia, aged 22, in a car that had been heavily modified for closed‑circuit racing. The fatal incident occurred on 5 October 2014 at Fenner Upper, Oldcastle. Cadden had been over the legal alcohol limit and had consumed cannabis that night. He was sentenced by the Trim Circuit Criminal Court to six years' imprisonment and a ten‑year driving disqualification. On appeal, the Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, reduced the custodial term by suspending the final 18 months, while the driving ban remained in force. The decision was based on Cadden's cooperation, lack of prior convictions, and his remorse, though the court upheld the six‑year headline sentence as appropriate. The case highlighted the vehicle's dangerous modifications and the high speed at which it was travelling. Vincent Cadden pleaded guilty.
2015-06-19 · Dublin
Patrick McDonagh, 27, of Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a stun gun on 28 November 2014. The device, disguised as a mobile phone, was found by Gardaí during a search unrelated to him. McDonagh had bought it "for a bit of fun" while on holidays in Cyprus and had never used it. He received a one‑year suspended sentence, with no mention of a license requirement. The case was heard in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and the judge accepted the lack of prior convictions.