Brandon Power, aged 23, avoided a custodial sentence for the second time after the Court of Appeal quashed his original one‑year suspended sentence for biting a Garda's finger, which broke the bone. The appellate court, deeming the original non‑custodial term unduly lenient, ordered a re‑sentencing that would give Power a chance to engage with probation services. Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham announced that Power would now receive a three‑year imprisonment term, suspended in full for two years, and warned that failure to cooperate with probation could lead to a jail sentence. The judge described the offence as a "vicious assault" against a Garda performing duties and noted that positive background reports from the Probation Service indicated Power was making a genuine effort to change. Power had previously pleaded guilty to assaulting Garda Trevor Devereux in March 2018 and was sentenced in April 2019.
In December 2021, Michael Waters, a 49‑year‑old barrister from Belfast, petitioned the Court of Appeal to quash a 2013 assault conviction in which he was found guilty of head‑butting a creche manager, Marian Wallace, on 4 January 2012. The original conviction carried a suspended three‑year sentence and was upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2017. Waters' motion, filed under Section 2 of the Criminal Procedures Act 1992, claimed newly discovered facts and sought a "miscarriage of justice" certification. Judge John Edwards responded that the judgment had been made in 2017 and that any objection should have been raised then, not four years later. He told Waters that all facts were known at the time and that he must provide an affidavit detailing any new evidence. The case was adjourned to February, with the judge giving Waters two months to submit his evidence. The motion was not granted.
Keith Quinn, a 33‑year‑old former professional footballer, was originally sentenced to seven and a half years' imprisonment with three years suspended for possession of over €2.7 million worth of heroin for sale or supply at Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 11, on 5 August 2020. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal quashed the original term imposed by Judge Pauline Codd and re‑sentenced Quinn to eight years' imprisonment with the last 18 months suspended. The court accepted that the headline sentence of 12 ½ years was appropriate but reduced the mitigation from five years to four and a half, and the suspended period from three and a half to 18 months. Quinn pleaded guilty, denied being a drug user, and the court noted his gambling debts and the loss of his mother as mitigating factors.
The Court of Appeal has heard an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding the sentencing of a 22-year-old man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The appellant admitted to the offence, contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amended) Act 1990, at the District Court, Midleton, Co Cork, in December 2020. He also admitted to asking the victim to touch him and contacting a child for sexual exploitation. In February this year, Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin at Cork Circuit Criminal Court imposed a two-year suspended sentence. The DPP argues this entirely suspended sentence was unduly lenient and not in accordance with principle, citing the appellant's prior flight to England to evade prosecution and his knowledge of the victim's age as aggravating factors. Defence counsel Elizabeth O'Connell SC contended that the appellant, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, spent a month in custody, and is now in full-time employment. She argued the onus was on the DPP to demonstrate a substantial departure from sentencing norms. The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgement on the appeal.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the State, upholding a High Court ruling that the State is not entitled to seek indemnity or contribution from BT Communications Ireland, formerly Esat Telecommunications. The dispute arises from a long-running action by businessman Declan Ganley and Comcast International Holdings Inc regarding the awarding of Ireland's second mobile phone licence in 1996, in which their Cellstar consortium was an unsuccessful bidder. In 2018, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart struck out the State's notices for indemnity and contribution. The State appealed, arguing that BT should not be released from the case to allow a fully informed trial decision. However, the three-judge Court of Appeal, comprising Ms Justice Caroline Costello, Mr Justice Robert Haughton, and Mr Justice Donald Binchy, unanimously dismissed the appeal. Mr Justice Haughton agreed with the trial judge's conclusion that the State parties cannot seek indemnity or contribution from BT as an alleged concurrent wrongdoer following the release and accord arising from the agreement between the plaintiffs and BT. The court found that the notices did not disclose a reasonable cause of action. BT was awarded its legal costs for the appeal. The matter is now concluded with the State's claims against BT struck out.
The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice John Edwards, rejected a request from the parents of two victims to identify a serial child abuser who had been caught with a 127‑page paedophile manual. The appeal also overturned a five‑year custodial term imposed on a 45‑year‑old man for two counts of sexually assaulting a boy, sexual exploitation of a boy, producing child pornography, and possession of child pornography. The court increased the sentence to six years, citing the severity of the offences and the large quantity of child‑pornographic material found on the defendant's devices. The parents had asked for the man's name to be revealed, but the court ruled that naming him would also identify the victims and therefore upheld the ban on disclosure. The decision was made without a separate application to lift the ban, and the judge emphasized that the increased term reflected the overall impact of the offending on the victims.
Patrick Harte, a former school principal aged 79, appealed the 2020 conviction for 11 counts of indecent assault on seven pupils at Sancta Maria Christian Brothers primary school between 1968 and 1970. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, rejecting his claim that the trial was prejudiced because he had not sought a parish priest's blessing before entering a teacher training course. The court found no evidence of collusion among the complainants and upheld the joint trial as the strongest case. It also found no prejudice from the delay or from the lack of a religious reference, noting that a jury in 2020 would not have been influenced by such a factor. The appeal was rejected with no reasons to consider the trial unsafe or unfair. The conviction and 3‑year sentence remain in force.
Phelim Coady, aged 24, avoided prison for a second time after a Court of Appeal decision. He had been convicted of dangerous driving causing death, driving a dangerously deficient vehicle, and driving while intoxicated with alcohol and cannabis, and without insurance. The original sentence of two years and six months' imprisonment was fully suspended, and he received a four‑year driving ban. The Court of Appeal quashed that sentence, ruling it too lenient, but imposed a new non‑custodial term of four and a half years, with a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended portion and a two‑year custodial term suspended for three years. The driving ban remained unchanged. The judge noted Coady's remorse, mental fragility, and the mitigating influence of his friend's family's plea not to jail him. The case involved the fatal crash on 30 June 2019, when Stephen Gleeson, 21, was thrown from a Toyota Starlet and died. The other three occupants survived uninjured. Phelim Coady pleaded guilty.
Two men convicted of rape have appealed their convictions at the Court of Appeal, arguing the trial judge erred in questioning a witness about the complainant's level of intoxication. Boakye Osei, formerly of Burnfoot, County Donegal, and Kelvin Opoku, formerly of Letterkenny, County Donegal, were found guilty by jury at the Central Criminal Court and sentenced to nine years imprisonment in March 2020. Their counsel submitted that the judge's direct question regarding the complainant's alcohol consumption was inappropriate in a case where capacity to consent was central to the prosecution case, and that the jury should have been discharged. Defence teams also raised concerns regarding incomplete disclosure of mobile phone material prior to trial and the complainant's use of video-link evidence rather than attending court in person. The Director of Public Prosecutions countered that the judge's question was minor and within judicial discretion, and that the disclosure matter was straightforward. Judgment has been reserved. Boakye Osei pleaded not guilty. Kelvin Opoku pleaded not guilty.
In 2019, a Central Criminal Court jury convicted 31‑year‑old farmer Eamon Roche of raping his ex‑partner in his car on a country road after a Garda chase. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by Mr Justice Paul McDermott. Roche appealed, arguing the trial judge failed to instruct the jury on the possibility of recklessness and the significance of the defendant's 'driving episode' and subsequent text messages. He claimed the judge should have considered the defence's claim that his apology for "being a bollocks" was about speeding away from a checkpoint, not an admission of guilt. The Director of Public Prosecutions countered that the judge had charged the jury correctly and had gone further than necessary. The appeal judgment is reserved. The case involved a relationship that had ended less than a year earlier, with the complainant alleging Roche forced sex after she feared for her life during the chase.
A man's appeal against a three-year-three-month prison sentence for assaulting two businessmen near Ballyconnell, County Cavan, has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. James Bernard McGovern, aged 24, had pleaded guilty in March to a Section 3 assault against Kevin Lunney, whom he repeatedly punched at an Apple Green Service Station in February 2019. He also admitted a Section 2 assault against Dara O'Reilly after throwing boiling water at him in the station's dining area. Mr Justice George Birmingham, President of the Court of Appeal, rejected McGovern's claim that the sentence was excessive, describing the attack as displaying "ferocity and savagery". The judge noted that McGovern, an accomplished boxer, had inflicted a broken nose and eye damage on Mr Lunney, and remarked that in other jurisdictions such injuries caused by a trained fighter's fists would be considered caused by lethal weapons. Mr Justice Birmingham found the offending constituted an act of revenge following the appellant's father's loss of employment at Quinn Industrial Holdings, and was a very serious matter warranting the custodial term imposed.
The Court of Appeal held that child sexual exploitation is a stand‑alone offence, contrary to a 2016 ruling by a Central Criminal Court judge who said it was only part of a trafficking offence. The appellate court found that the relevant sections of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 and the Criminal Law Act 2008 create an independent offence of sexual exploitation, requiring proof of the child's personal liberty being taken for sexual exploitation, punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. The decision clarified that the offence does not require the child to have been trafficked. The ruling does not alter the acquittals of two farmers who had been found not guilty of exploiting a 16‑year‑old farm labourer. The Court of Appeal's judgment was delivered by Mr Justice George Birmingham.
The Court of Appeal has quashed the convictions of a 39-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, who were the first in Irish history to be found guilty of female genital mutilation (FGM). The appellants, originally from a French-speaking African region, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in November 2019 to one count of FGM and one count of child cruelty alleged to have occurred on their one-year-old daughter in September 2016. Following a unanimous guilty verdict, Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced the man to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment and the woman to four years and nine months in January 2020. On appeal, the three-judge panel, led by Mr Justice John Edwards, ruled the trial was unfair due to serious inaccuracies in the translation of the defendants' testimony. The court found that mistranslations, such as interpreting "would you hurt her?" as "do you hate her?", rendered the proceedings unsafe. Consequently, the convictions were quashed. The Director of Public Prosecutions has requested a retrial, a motion not opposed by the appellants' counsel. The matter is therefore adjourned for the purpose of arranging this new trial, rather than being concluded.
Patrick Quirke, aged 52, lost his appeal against a 2019 conviction for the murder of DJ Bobby "Mr Moonlight" Ryan, aged 52, whose decomposed body was found in a disused slurry tank on a farm leased by Quirke. The Court of Appeal rejected more than 50 grounds of appeal presented by Quirke's lawyers. Judge George Birmingham, delivering the judgment, said he was not persuaded by any of the arguments and expressed unease about the trial's extensive legal argument. He noted the trial was the longest in Irish history, lasting 71 days, and described the number of voir dire as extraordinary. Quirke was not present at the hearing but watched via video link. The court upheld the jury's guilty verdict and the life sentence imposed in 2019. The appeal court also dismissed the defence's claim that the trial judge should have declared the trial unfair. The judgment reaffirmed that the evidence, though circumstantial, was sufficient for conviction.
In November 2021 the Court of Appeal heard an appeal by Rita O'Driscoll, aged 49, who had been convicted of murdering her former husband, Timothy 'Timmy' Foley, in October 2018. O'Driscoll's appeal argues that the trial judge erred by allowing the prosecution's chief witness, Jason Foley, to give evidence via video‑link and an intermediary. Jason Foley, who suffered an acquired brain injury in 2010, was introduced to the jury as a GP rather than an expert. O'Driscoll's counsel contended that the jury was misled into seeing Foley as a vulnerable witness, while the State's counsel maintained that Foley's intellectual disability was known to the jury and that the remote testimony did not distort the witness's appearance. The court reserved judgment on the matter. The appeal does not address the conviction itself, which remains a mandatory life sentence.
A serial fraudster from Carrickmacross is the subject of an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the leniency of his sentence. Michael McGauley pleaded guilty in October 2020 at Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court to five counts of deception and theft committed between February 2016 and October 2018, obtaining approximately €149,600 from his victims. He was sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment on each count, with sentences ordered to run concurrently and the final nine months suspended on condition of probation supervision and abstinence from gambling and alcohol. The DPP contends the sentence was unduly lenient, arguing that consecutive rather than concurrent sentences should have been imposed. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of Appeal, Ms Justice Una Ní Raifeartaigh noted the deliberate emotional manipulation involved in the offences, questioning the connection between McGauley's gambling addiction and his deceptive conduct toward victims. The case was adjourned pending the court's determination on the appeal.
In a burglary at a Drogheda home on 29 April 2019, a 28‑year‑old South American au pair was tied to her backpack's cables and locked in a cupboard, then later dragged back into the hot press where she endured verbal abuse for an hour. The intruders, Stephen Daly (29) and a co‑accused, stole €800, $100, a phone, a watch and jewellery. At a Trim Circuit Criminal Court hearing in November 2019, Daly pleaded guilty to burglary and false imprisonment. Judge Martina Baxter sentenced him to nine years for false imprisonment (the final year suspended for 12 months) and seven years for burglary, with both terms running concurrently. In the Court of Appeal, Daly's counsel argued the 12‑year headline sentence was excessive, citing mitigating factors and his early guilty plea. The appeal was dismissed; the judge's sentencing was upheld. The case highlighted the au pair's ordeal and the subsequent security measures installed by her employers.
The Court of Appeal heard that the first Covid‑19 lockdown announced in March 2020 may have pressured the jury in a case involving a 60‑year‑old man convicted of grooming and sexually abusing teenage girls. The Central Criminal Court had found that between May 1994 and February 2001 the defendant carried out sexual assaults on 14 children, pleading guilty in 2002 to ten of those attacks and receiving a nine‑year sentence with two years suspended. In March 2020 the jury convicted him of 30 counts of sexual assault against four girls aged 11 to 17, and Ms Justice Tara Burns sentenced him to seven years. The defendant's barrister, Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, submitted 11 grounds of appeal, including that the lockdown announcement may have created a "logical conclusion" for jurors to feel pressured, that the jury deliberated only two hours, and that evidence was introduced in a way that prejudiced the defendant.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed a suspended sentence imposed on a man convicted of unlawful possession of firearms at the Court of Appeal in Dublin. Stephen O'Connor, aged 45, of Carndonagh, was handed a four-year suspended sentence in May by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to storing two loaded semi-automatic pistols concealed within a vacuum cleaner at his home on 7 September 2019. The State argues the suspension should not have been imposed in full, though it does not challenge the four-year term itself. The trial judge heard that O'Connor, who has no previous convictions, agreed to conceal the weapons when approached by a criminal associate during a period of gangland activity in Dublin. His legal counsel submitted that he was exceptionally vulnerable at the time, suffering serious mental health difficulties and previous suicide attempts, and had been exploited. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, reserved judgement, describing the case as very serious.
In 2010, Andrzej Benko, aged 50, attempted to murder his wife Joanna by striking her with a hammer while she slept. He was arrested, pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him and the Central Criminal Court sentenced him to 15 years. Benko appealed, claiming the sentence was too long and that he had cooperated with Gardaí after his arrest. The Court of Appeal considered mitigating factors such as his drug‑addicted wife, concern for their toddler, and a low risk of re‑offending. The prosecution argued that the case remained ongoing 11 years after the attack and that Benko had shown no remorse. The court noted Joanna's severe injuries, her need for lifelong care, and the marital problems that preceded the assault. The appeal was heard on 21 October 2021.
Phelim Coady, aged 22, was found in tears beside the body of Stephen Gleeson after a fatal crash on June 30, 2019, in Garrykennedy, Co. Tipperary. The 1995 Toyota Starlet, owned by Gleeson, overturned at 5am after hitting a bend, throwing Gleeson from the rear window. Coady, who was intoxicated and under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and driving a dangerously deficient vehicle. Judge Patrick Meghen sentenced him to two years and six months' imprisonment, suspended entirely, and banned him from driving for four years. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence as unduly lenient, citing insufficient weight to aggravating factors. Coady's counsel described the incident as highly unusual, noting the car's poor condition and the fact that the other occupants walked away uninjured. The Court of Appeal heard the case and reserved judgment. The judge expressed sympathy for Gleeson's family and emphasized the need for consequences.
Roy Carroll, a 28‑year‑old former youth boxer from Cork, had a drugs conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal after a jury found him guilty of possessing a quantity of cocaine for sale. He was originally sentenced to four years' jail with 18 months suspended. The appeal was based on the fact that evidence of Carroll's silence during Garda interviews was admitted to the jury without proper direction on how to consider the exercise of his right to remain silent. The Court of Appeal ruled the trial was unsatisfactory and that the verdict was unsafe, noting that Carroll had been advised of his right to silence and had not answered questions. The court said it was disposed to order a retrial and returned the case to Cork Circuit Criminal Court, where the State intends to retry the matter on the basis of the Garda evidence. Roy Carroll pleaded not guilty.
John Walker, a taxi driver described by his adopted daughter Jennifer Kelly as an "evil and dangerous man", was convicted in December 2019 of 40 counts of indecently and sexually assaulting her over a ten‑year period from 1990 to 2000. Kelly, who was aged between eight and 18 during the offences, waived her right to anonymity and testified that Walker abused her at his home and at a former residence in Kilmashogue Grove, Greenpark, Dublin 12. Walker pleaded not guilty and later appealed, arguing that missing evidence from two witnesses and procedural errors by the trial judge had denied him a fair trial. His counsel claimed the judge failed to give the jury a directed acquittal, a delay warning, a re‑charge, and a corroboration warning. The Court of Appeal, in a judgment by Mr Justice John Edwards, dismissed all grounds of appeal, stating the trial was satisfactory and the verdict safe.
Simon McGinley (38) appeared before the Court of Appeal on 14 October seeking to have his murder conviction quashed on the basis of new psychiatric evidence. McGinley was convicted in April 2014 of murdering Eugene Gillespie (67) at a residence on Old Market Street, Sligo, on 19 September 2012. He had initially pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, a plea the State rejected. Evidence presented to the three-judge court indicated McGinley was displaying symptoms of schizophrenia at the time of the attack, a matter not considered during his trial. Defence counsel argued the defendant's mental state was directly relevant to the question of intent and that the jury should have been afforded the opportunity to consider this material. State counsel contended that mental disorder alone could not form the basis for overturning a conviction previously reaffirmed on appeal in 2016. Mr Justice George Birmingham reserved judgment. McGinley remains serving a life sentence.
Brandon Power, 22, of St Joseph's Road, Newtownmountkennedy, was sentenced for assaulting Garda Trevor Devereux at Wicklow Circuit Court on 31 March 2018. Power bit the officer's finger during a courtroom struggle, later pleading guilty. Judge Terence O'Sullivan imposed a one‑year sentence suspended for 12 months on 11 April 2019. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was too lenient. The Court of Appeal agreed and called for background reports to determine an appropriate sentence. Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham, together with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, were to assess the reports. The case was adjourned to 13 December after a probation report was unavailable. Birmingham warned Power that the matter was very serious, that he must "put his best foot forward," and that a prison sentence was likely even if he cooperated positively with probation. He also cautioned that failure to cooperate could lead to a significantly more severe penalty.
Aoife Lynch, aged 22, spoke from home after the Court of Appeal increased her attacker Anthony Smith's sentence. Smith, 45, had originally been sentenced to five years' imprisonment with three suspended for sexual assault and exploitation of a 14‑year‑old girl. The appeal, prompted by the Director of Public Prosecutions, found the original sentence too lenient and overturned it, ruling that only two years of the headline term should have been suspended. Lynch said she was relieved the proceedings were over and hoped the ruling would encourage other victims to come forward. She urged more support for those who speak out and highlighted the stress and anxiety she and her family endured. The judge noted Lynch's vulnerability and Smith's predatory behaviour, while the prosecutor emphasised the undue leniency of the original sentence. Smith's counsel defended the original sentence as appropriate. The unnamed woman pleaded guilty.
The Court of Appeal heard that Tusla requested regular examinations of the infant girl at the centre of Ireland's first recorded conviction for female genital mutilation (FGM). Dr Sinead Harty, a consultant paediatrician, testified that she was asked by Tusla to perform follow-up examinations after the child was admitted to hospital in September 2016 with bleeding, due to concerns she had been a victim of FGM and could be subjected to the practice again. The girl's 39-year-old father and 29-year-old mother were later jailed for five-and-a-half years and four years and nine months respectively following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in November 2019. Both pleaded not guilty to one count of carrying out an act of FGM on the then one-year-old girl at an address in Dublin on September 16, 2016, and one count of child cruelty on the same day. The couple, who moved to this country from Africa and cannot be identified to protect the identity of their daughter, have lodged an appeal against their convictions and sentences. The State has submitted that their sentences were too lenient. The hearing continues.
Matthew Cummins, aged 27, was released after serving seven years for a murder conviction that was quashed by the Court of Appeal. The appeal found no evidence that Cummins and James Davy were part of a joint enterprise with Sean Davy, who struck Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley eight times with a baseball bat. Cummins admitted responsibility for burn marks on Dooley's legs and the armchair, having tried to set fire to the body to destroy evidence. Mr Justice Michael White sentenced Cummins to nine years, with two years suspended, to run consecutively with a two‑year arson term. Cummins has been in custody since 2014 and is now eligible for release. The judge noted his exemplary prison behaviour but warned of a high risk of reoffending. The article reports only the procedural outcome and Cummins' admission of the fire‑setting attempt.
Zoltan Almasi, 49, appeared before Mr Justice Michael White for sentencing after his conviction for the manslaughter of Joseph Dunne. The matter is at the appeal stage, following a history where Almasi's initial murder conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court, leading to two retrials that ended in jury disagreements. Ultimately, the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted a plea of manslaughter, which Almasi had previously offered. Prosecution counsel Caroline Biggs SC stated the DPP considers the offence in the high culpability bracket for manslaughter, attracting a headline sentence of 10 to 15 years. Defence counsel Barra McGrory QC argued the incident was spontaneous, noting Almasi had no prior convictions and did not intend serious harm. He suggested the offence falls in the higher end of the middle category, citing Almasi's positive prison conduct and remorse. The Dunne family, who described the killing as murder, complained that the legal process had torn their son's character apart. Mr Justice White adjourned the matter, stating he will sentence Almasi on September 8.
James Davy, originally convicted of the murder of 64‑year‑old Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley, had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal and replaced with a conviction for assisting an offender. Mr Justice Michael White at the Central Criminal Court sentenced Davy to nine years, noting he had served his sentence and should be released after entering custody in November 2014. Matthew Cummins, whose murder conviction was also quashed, will be sentenced for his role in an attempted cover‑up; his barrister said he accepts responsibility for attempting to set fire to the deceased after Dooley had been beaten to death by Sean Davy. Cummins' behaviour in prison has been described as "quite exceptional" and the judge is considering suspending part of his sentence and running it concurrently with sentences for other offences.
The Court of Appeal has refused to order the reexamination of a child in an appeal by her parents, who were convicted in 2020 of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child cruelty. Mr Justice John Edwards, presiding over the three-judge court, deemed the requested examination disproportionate and likely to cause further distress to the child. The parents, a 38-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, originally pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of FGM and one count of child cruelty committed on their then one-year-old daughter in September 2016. After a trial where the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts, Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced the man to five and a half years' imprisonment and the woman to four years and nine months' imprisonment in January 2020. The appeal centers on conflicting medical opinions; trial doctors maintained the clitoris was removed, while Professor Birgitta Essen, a Swedish FGM expert, reviewed evidence including a video recording and found the clitoris intact. Although the court rejected the request for a new physical examination, it will allow Professor Essen to testify at the appeal hearing to assess whether her testimony should be admitted as new evidence. The judge noted that the existing 2019 video recording is of very good quality and sufficient for expert analysis by both sides.
In August 2021 the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of a 16‑year‑old for sexually assaulting a six‑year‑old neighbour in April 2019. The boy had been found guilty by a jury in December 2020 after the older child pulled down the younger boy's trousers and repeatedly spanked his bare bottom. His lawyers appealed on the basis of a delay before trial and the decision to allow the victim to view a video of his own interview, arguing that this would bias the child's testimony. Mr Justice George Birmingham dismissed both arguments, stating that the delay did not prejudice the case and that the video had limited impact because the defence did not cross‑examine the child. The appeal was rejected, leaving the original conviction intact.
In 2021 the Court of Appeal quashed the 2003 murder conviction of Yusuf Ali Abdi, a 48‑year‑old father, and ordered a retrial. The original verdict had been based on a majority of jurors accepting a prosecution psychiatrist's view that Abdi did not suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. In 2019 new evidence showed that Abdi's diagnosis had changed to paranoid schizophrenia, a fact that could have altered the jury's decision. The retrial, held in 2019, resulted in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice George Birmingham, declared the original conviction a miscarriage of justice, noting that both defence and prosecution experts agreed Abdi was mentally ill at the time of the offence. The case involved the death of Abdi's 20‑month‑old son, Nathan, who suffered fatal head injuries on 17 April 2001. The court found no evidence of prosecutorial irregularity or perjured testimony.
The High Court adjourned the extradition challenge of Imre Arakas until September 23, pending the outcome of Liam Campbell's Supreme Court appeal. Arakas, 63, is jailed in Ireland for conspiracy to murder James 'Mago' Gately and faces Lithuanian allegations of murder, firearms, and conspiracy charges related to the 2015 shooting of Deimantas Bugavicius. While the Minister for Justice's counsel confirmed Lithuania intends to try Arakas, his legal team argued that a recent Court of Appeal dismissal of Campbell's similar extradition appeal is relevant. Campbell, 58, has applied to the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling. The judge determined it was impractical to proceed with Arakas' hearing while the Supreme Court considers whether to adopt Campbell's case. Arakas, who has been in custody since April 2017, was arrested in Dublin in February 2018 under a European Arrest Warrant. He maintains he was in Spain during the alleged 2015 incident. The court noted that an eyewitness had previously identified Arakas as not being present at the scene. The matter remains unresolved and is strictly adjourned, not concluded, awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on Campbell's application.
A Dublin man has lost his appeal against conviction for membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army. The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal by Ciaran Maguire (32), who was sentenced to four years and 11 months imprisonment following his conviction by the Special Criminal Court in May 2018. Maguire and his co-accused Kevin Braney (46) were convicted of membership following an incident in July 2017 when they travelled to County Meath and threatened an accident victim, warning him they were members of the IRA and would shoot him if he did not withdraw an insurance claim against his former employer. On appeal, the court upheld the lawfulness of Maguire's arrest, the admissibility of surveillance evidence, and the inferences drawn from his interview with gardaí. The appellate judges found that court interventions during cross-examination of a key witness were not unfair. The appeal was dismissed.
In a 2021 decision, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Conor Metcalfe, a 30‑year‑old from Monastery Park, Clondalkin, who had been sentenced to four years and six months by the Special Criminal Court for IRA membership. Metcalfe's appeal against conviction was rejected because the trial court had lawfully used the opinion evidence of Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony Howard, who claimed privilege over the material that led him to believe Metcalfe was an IRA member on 24 November 2015. The court also rejected Metcalfe's appeal against the sentence, stating that the imposed term was consistent with other cases and that the 13 prior convictions, while not directly related to IRA membership, had a limited mitigating effect. The Court affirmed the validity of opinion evidence in IRA membership trials, noting its long-standing place in Irish law. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
Former INLA member Dessie O'Hare, known as "The Border Fox," withdrew his appeal against the severity of his sentence at the Court of Appeal. O'Hare, of County Armagh, was jailed in 2019 by the Special Criminal Court for seven years for falsely imprisoning a family and leading a violent attack. He pleaded guilty to assaulting John Roche and falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne at Rathcoole and Saggart on June 9, 2015. The court sentenced him to three years for the assault and ten years for the imprisonment, with the final three years suspended for life; the sentences run concurrently. A previous appeal hearing was adjourned after O'Hare dismissed his lawyers. During today's hearing, Justice George Birmingham warned that the court could increase his sentence, noting his 1988 conviction for kidnapping Dr. John O'Grady, for which he received 40 years before release under the Good Friday Agreement. Counsel argued O'Hare was being punished for past sins, citing co-accused Declan "Whacker" Duffy, who received six years in 2018 for similar offences. After Justice Birmingham indicated the appeal was unlikely to succeed, O'Hare instructed his barrister to withdraw the appeal. The matter was adjourned following the withdrawal, and the original sentence stands.
Liam Campbell, aged 58, who was found civilly liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing, is to be extradited to Lithuania where he is suspected of international weapons smuggling. The Court of Appeal dismissed Campbell's appeal against the High Court's decision to surrender him. Campbell had fought extradition for over twelve years, having been arrested in 2016 under a second European Arrest Warrant issued by Lithuanian authorities. The warrant alleges that between late 2006 and early 2007 he arranged with members of the Real Irish Republican Army to acquire firearms and explosives from Lithuania and smuggle them into Ireland. The High Court had ordered his extradition in June 2020; Campbell's counsel argued that Lithuania had not yet decided to prosecute him, citing an affidavit that the decision to indict was contingent on further evidence. The Court of Appeal found no error in the High Court's ruling and upheld the extradition order.
In 2011, Jonathan Duke, 27, was strangled at Bridge House, Bandon, and his body was thrown into the River Bandon. A day earlier, John Forrester, 42, had been murdered in the same building. Gardaí believe Duke was killed because he knew of Forrester's murder. Catherine O'Connor, former girlfriend of Forrester, is serving life for both killings. Her boyfriend, Ciprian Grozavu, 47, denied both murders and was tried separately. He was found guilty of both murders, sentenced to life, but appealed the Duke conviction; the Court of Appeal quashed it and ordered a retrial. At the retrial, Grozavu was acquitted of murder but found guilty of two counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another. Mr Justice Michael MacGrath sentenced him to eight years for assisting O'Connor in disposing of Duke's body in the river and a concurrent six‑year sentence for removing the body from the scene.
Emma Fehily, 37, was sentenced by the Court of Appeal to three‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, with 18 months suspended for two years, on two counts of forgery and two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The sentence follows the discovery of two further forged documents, one purporting to be from a doctor and another from a counselling service, which were found by Fehily's own defence team. The documents were dated 2018 and were not new materials prepared for the appeal hearing. Fehily had previously pleaded guilty to multiple theft offences and had been given a fully‑suspended one‑year sentence in 2020, which the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed as unduly lenient. The judge noted that Fehily had shown little or no remorse and that her legal team had acted diligently in uncovering the forged documents.
A 33‑year‑old former security guard, Noel McKeon, lost an appeal against a 14‑year jail term for raping and violently assaulting two escort workers. The Court of Appeal upheld the Court of Appeal's finding that McKeon's attacks on a Latin American woman on 18 June 2016 and a Romanian woman on 2 February 2018 had a 'sinister, xenophobic context'. McKeon had contacted the women via an "escorts" website, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, assault, robbery and rape, and admitted false imprisonment of the first victim. In the first incident he forced the woman to jump naked from a window, stabbed her, and raped her after a violent struggle. In the second he demanded sex without a condom, punched her, pulled her hair, and raped her twice. Justice Tony Hunt imposed consecutive ten‑year sentences, reduced to 16 years with a two‑year suspension on condition of treatment. The appeal was dismissed.
A man from Raphoe in County Donegal has had his prison sentence doubled by the Court of Appeal following two attacks on his neighbour's home and an assault that left her with a broken jaw. Leon Kelly was originally sentenced to two-and-a-half years, with twelve months suspended, by Letterkenny Circuit Court in November 2020 for assault causing harm and criminal damage. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed on grounds of undue leniency. The court heard that Kelly rammed his vehicle into his neighbour's car and home on 13 April 2019, causing €13,000 in damage and breaking the woman's jaw. He subsequently fled across the River Finn into Northern Ireland but was apprehended by the PSNI and returned. Eight days later, he attacked the same property again with his Volkswagen Passat. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy increased the sentence to three years imprisonment, finding the original term did not reflect the gravity and violence of the offences. Leon Kelly pleaded guilty.
In a 2021 Court of Appeal hearing, the lawyer for a Ugandan man serving a ten‑year sentence for infecting two women with HIV argued that the trial judge should have warned the jury that the case relied on circumstantial evidence. The appellant, 30, had been convicted in 2018 for intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the women between November 2009 and June 2010. The appeal centred on whether the jury was properly directed about the nature of the evidence, as no conclusive scientific proof of transmission was presented. The Court of Appeal noted that the defence had not raised the issue at the lower court, but the judge could still consider it. The court reserved judgment, with the appeal focusing on the adequacy of the jury's instructions regarding circumstantial evidence. The case remains at the appeal stage, with no outcome announced.
A convicted murderer, Ciprian Grozavu, aged 47, will be sentenced next week for impeding the investigation into the murder of Jonathan Duke, 27, who was strangled and thrown into the River Bandon on 12 November 2011. Grozavu was found guilty of two counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another. He was acquitted of murder after a retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal. The case involved the murder of John Forrester, 42, who was killed the day before Duke's murder. Catherine O'Connor, Forrester's former girlfriend, is serving life for both murders. Grozavu's trial was held at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick, and he has 13 prior convictions. The judge will hand down the sentence on Tuesday next.
The Court of Appeal has quashed the second murder conviction of David O'Loughlin, substituting it with a manslaughter verdict after finding no evidence he intended to kill or cause serious harm to Liam Manley. Mr Justice Michael White at the Central Criminal Court subsequently sentenced O'Loughlin to 12 years' imprisonment. The judge set a headline sentence of 18 years, reduced it to 14 years based on mitigating factors, and suspended the final two years on conditions of good behaviour, probation supervision for two years, and attendance at directed therapeutic services. The sentence was backdated to May 23, 2013, when O'Loughlin first entered custody, meaning he can expect release in early 2022. The court noted O'Loughlin's "serious propensity for violence" and his 54 previous convictions, including multiple assaults causing serious harm. However, mitigating factors included his guilty plea to manslaughter prior to his first trial, his academic achievements in prison, and his tragic background involving domestic violence. The appeal process followed the overturning of his first conviction due to jury irregularities and the subsequent retrial where he was initially convicted of murder.
In a 2021 decision, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of a 56‑year‑old travelling salesman who had been convicted of raping a 24‑year‑old female assistant at a fair in County Cork in 2015. The appeal was based on three grounds, including the alleged inadmissibility of text messages exchanged between the salesman, the victim and another female employee. The Court found the messages had evidential value in showing the salesman's intent to have intercourse with the employee and that the appeal had no basis. The judge who had sentenced the salesman to five years' imprisonment in 2018, Mr Justice Paul McDermott, had ruled the conviction valid. The Court also rejected claims that the trial judge had given an unbalanced charge to the jury, describing the charge as "impeccable, balanced and thoughtful.".
A man convicted of robbing a post office in Co Longford has had the conditions of his sentence varied by the Court of Appeal. Alan Coyne (46) of Ballinaree Cottage, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final two years suspended at Longford Circuit Criminal Court in May 2020 after pleading guilty to robbing An Post in Ardagh on October 16, 2019. He took €13,238 after threatening staff and a customer with a knife. The sentencing conditions required Coyne to pay €4,000 compensation to each of two victims within two years of release, with €2,000 due within the first twelve months, while also attending a residential drug treatment programme. The Court of Appeal agreed that these requirements were unrealistic, as the 20-week treatment course would prevent him from working. Mr Justice George Birmingham and his colleagues varied the conditions to allow €2,000 per victim to be paid within the first two years of release, with the balance due within a further twelve months.
A man who poured petrol on his wife and two children after setting fire to petrol spread in their home was jailed for a year by the Court of Appeal. He had earlier received a suspended sentence for threatening to damage property and for breaching a barring order issued by his wife six weeks before the St Patrick's Day attack. He pleaded guilty to the threat, to breaching the barring order, and to criminal damage for setting fire to a light at the house the next day. A Circuit Court judge had given him a wholly suspended 12‑month sentence for the attack, but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal, noting the man's repeated breaches of the barring order and the aggravating circumstances.
Ross Outram, aged 30, was convicted in 2019 by a Central Criminal Court jury of murdering 90‑year‑old Paddy Lyons, the oldest man in his village, at Loughleagh, Ballysaggart, Lismore, Co. Waterford. Lyons was found dead in his armchair with blood on his face; he had suffered multiple blows to head and neck, fractures of hip, jaw and ribs, with the hip fracture deemed the cause of death. Outram, previously convicted of burglary and assault, claimed self‑defence, arguing that Lyons' fatal fall was unrelated to the assault. The Court of Appeal rejected this appeal, stating that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that the assault caused the fall and hip fracture. The appeal was dismissed, leaving Outram's life sentence intact.
In 2021, Niall Conneely, 48, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious harm and driving without insurance after a crash on 27 October 2018 that left father and son Sanghodara and Manoj Kataram seriously injured. The initial sentencing judge, citing Manoj's "exceptional level of charity" in his plea for mercy, imposed a four‑year prison term but suspended the final three years, ordering 240 hours of community service instead. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal, after hearing the case, found the original sentence too light and re‑sentenced Conneely to four years in prison, suspending the final three years. Conneely entered a bond for good behaviour for the suspended period and agreed to report to Garda Station as required. The decision was made by Justice Birmingham, Justice McCarthy and Justice Kennedy. The case remains at the appellate stage.