Philip McCarthy, 48, of Cabra Court, Thurles, was charged with possession of €43,000 worth of drugs after a vehicle stop at the Horse and Jockey Hotel in November 2011. He received a 10‑year sentence, with the final three years suspended, at Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court on 18 October 2013. In the Court of Appeal on 2 March 2015, Mr Justice George Birmingham informed counsel that the Court of Appeal can increase sentences and that no exceptional circumstances were found. McCarthy's counsel requested an adjournment, and the case was rescheduled for a later hearing.
The Director of Public Prosecutions will challenge a stay on criminal proceedings against former minister Michael Lowry, who faces four tax‑offence charges for allegedly filing incorrect returns in 2003 and 2007. Lowry, 60, was initially heard at Thurles District Court and later transferred to Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court on a €500 bail bond. The case was moved to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the DPP intends to lift the stay. The High Court will hear the challenge, with the case adjourned to 14 April and Lowry excused from that hearing.
Mihail Lurescu, 28, of Thurles, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to his former wife on 17 July 2013 in Dublin. The judge, Martin Nolan, sentenced him to a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended term after a three‑week pre‑sentencing custody period. Lurescu had previously been convicted of ten non‑violent offences. The assault involved repeated punches to the woman's head, a fracture to her cheekbone and bruising. He also took her mobile phone and threatened further violence. Garda Enda Muldoon reported that the victim was too frightened to return to her apartment. Lurescu admitted partial remorse, saying "a part of me is." The judge noted that alcohol was a factor but not an excuse. The couple, now legally separated, share a child. The sentence was imposed to deter future behaviour.
The case against former minister Michael Lowry, aged 60, was adjourned at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Lowry faces four charges of knowingly filing incorrect tax returns in 2003 and 2007. He had appeared before Thurles District Court last year and was sent to Nenagh Circuit Court on a €500 bail bond. The trial was later transferred to Dublin at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Judge Martin Nolan adjourned the case to a further mention date on 27 February 2015, and Lowry is excused from attending the next court date.
In a High Court case on 28 January 2015, REL Cooling Services Ltd, a Dublin‑based company that installs specialised beer and cider cooling systems for pubs, secured temporary injunctions against former employees David McDonald and Niall Rhattigan and their new company, Refrigeration Ecocool Ltd. REL alleges that McDonald and Rhattigan, while employed as regional sales managers, unlawfully used confidential client information to set up a rival business with identical initials. The injunctions, granted ex‑parte by Mr Justice Paul Gilligan, prohibit the defendants from directly or indirectly breaching REL's contracts with employees or customers, and from using REL's client or price information for their own benefit. REL claims the new firm is passing itself off as REL and is harming the company's business. The injunctions are temporary and the matter is set to return to court early next week.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 20 January 2015, Mihail Lurescu, aged 28, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm after striking his former wife on 17 July 2013 at their former Dublin home. Judge Martin Nolan remanded Lurescu in custody for three weeks, stating the detention would serve as a warning against future similar conduct. The victim, who is now legally separated from Lurescu and has a child with him, reported that he punched her in the head, told her to clean blood from her face, took her mobile phone, and threatened to go to jail. She suffered a fractured cheekbone and bruising. Garda Enda Muldoon informed the judge that jailing Lurescu would not aid the family. Lurescu's defence, represented by Keith Spencer BL, argued the incident was isolated and that the victim did not want him imprisoned. The judge noted Lurescu's ten prior convictions were for traffic and non‑violent public order offences.
David Church, a 39‑year‑old father of four from Parnell Street, Dublin, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for fraudulently claiming €478,052 in Jobseekers' Allowance and Rent Allowance over a 12‑year period. He used six false identities, obtained by purchasing birth certificates in the UK, to file welfare claims in Dublin between 2002 and 2013. The fraud was uncovered when facial‑recognition software matched the same photograph on multiple welfare identities. Church pleaded guilty to 13 sample counts at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, admitting he had used the money for drinking, gambling and loans, while also providing for his family. The court noted his lack of prior convictions and his cooperation with Gardaí, and Judge Martin Nolan highlighted his potential for rehabilitation. The case was brought by the Department of Social Protection and the Gardaí, who detected the scam through image‑matching and CCTV evidence.
David Church, a 39‑year‑old father of four from Dublin, pleaded guilty to 13 counts that represented 199 charges of fraudulently claiming Jobseekers' Allowance and Rent Allowance between September 2002 and July 2013. He used six false identities, created in the UK by purchasing birth certificates, to claim a total of €478,052 from the State, an average of about €40,000 a year. The fraud was uncovered when facial‑recognition software matched the same photograph on multiple welfare identities. Church admitted to using the names Adam Cole, Paul Anthony O'Brien, Derek O'Brien and Darren O'Brien, and later confessed to five additional names. He had no prior convictions and was arrested in July 2013 after Gardaí observed him claiming benefits under false names at post offices. The court will sentence him tomorrow, with a remand in custody.
Andrew Hoare, 27, of Monakeeba, Thurles, was convicted of robbery at a shop in Thurles on 2 September 2012. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Judge Thomas Teehan at Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court on 11 April 2013. In the robbery, Hoare entered the shop armed with a knife and demanded money from the shop‑owner's son, Mr Scanlon. Scanlon resisted and tried to wrestle the knife, resulting in a struggle that left Scanlon with an injured hand and a sum of money taken. Scanlon chased Hoare down the street, and Gardaí launched a "general manhunt." Hoare fled toward the railway station; Gardaí stopped the train and found him in the toilet, where money was recovered and he was arrested. On 5 December 2014, the Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Seán Ryan, reduced Hoare's sentence from seven to five years imprisonment, stating that while the offence was serious, the reduction was permissible.
In a 2014 appeal, the Court of Appeal reduced the 24‑year‑old Jason Morrissey's 14‑year sentence for unlawfully killing 25‑year‑old James Tynan to ten years, while keeping his other convictions intact. Morrissey had pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing after striking Tynan with a single punch on February 19, 2012, at Liberty Square in Thurles. The court noted that the fatal blow was not a premeditated assault and that Tynan died the next day after falling to the ground. Morrissey's case also included three separate assault sentences and a theft sentence, all running concurrently, for a total of 21 years with three years suspended. The appeal was limited to the unlawful‑killing conviction, and the Court of Appeal confirmed the ten‑year sentence as appropriate and proportionate. The other convictions and their start dates remained unchanged.
The High Court has granted leave to Edward Buckley of Gurtnara, Upperchurch, Thurles, and Edel Grace of Grousehall Milestone, Thurles, to challenge An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant planning permission for a windfarm in County Tipperary. The applicants, represented by David Browne BL, seek to quash the Board's August 12 decision, which allowed Ecopower Developments Ltd to construct a development comprising 22 turbines, ancillary works, an access road, and buildings. The proposed site is located at Upperchurch, with turbines reaching an overall height of 126.6m. The applicants allege that the Board acted outside its powers, contrary to the 2000 Planning and Development Act, and in breach of the 1992 EU Council Habitats Directive. Specifically, they contend that permission was granted after Mr Buckley withdrew his written consent for his lands to be used for a required access road at Knocknameena. They further argue that the Board failed to conduct an environmental impact assessment and that the decision breaches EU directives on the conservation of natural habitats. Mr Justice Michael Peart granted the application on an ex parte basis, with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Ecopower listed as notice parties. The matter was made returnable to date in late November.