Simon McGinley, aged 32 from Connaughton Road Car Park in Sligo, has had his appeals against conviction and sentence dismissed by the Court of Appeal. McGinley was convicted of the murder of Eugene Gillespie, a 67-year-old retired telecoms broker, who died following an assault at his home on Old Market Street on 19 September 2012. McGinley had admitted killing Mr Gillespie but denied the charge was murder. A jury found him guilty of murder in April 2014, and he received a mandatory life sentence along with concurrent sentences for false imprisonment and burglary. The three-judge court, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, found no grounds of substance in McGinley's appeals. The court noted the seriousness of the offences and McGinley's significant criminal history of 21 previous convictions. McGinley was returned to prison to continue serving his sentences.
In November 2016 the Court of Appeal ruled that the Building and Allied Trades Union (BATU) breached John O'Connell's constitutional right to work by refusing to grant him full membership. The court directed a High Court hearing to assess damages. It overturned a prior High Court finding that BATU and some officials had conspired to intimidate O'Connell and that he was not entitled to damages on those grounds. The Court of Appeal held that BATU had no valid justification for denying O'Connell membership and that the union's exclusion infringed his right to earn a livelihood, given BATU's effective monopoly over the blocklayer market. The court remitted the assessment of damages to the High Court, but upheld that O'Connell's claims against the Construction Federation were statute‑barred and dismissed. BATU and the CIF denied the allegations. The case remains at the High Court stage for damages determination.
Petrica Lucaci, a 25‑year‑old Romanian, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for a series of offences committed on 7 October 2014, including unlawful seizure of a vehicle, assault, assault of a peace officer, dangerous driving and two counts of endangerment. The original sentence, imposed by Judge Terence O'Sullivan on 11 May 2016, suspended the final year. On appeal the Court of Appeal found that the "out of character" nature of the conduct, Lucaci's guilty plea and his offer of substantial compensation warranted a longer suspended period. Consequently, Judge Alan Mahon re‑sentenced him to five years with the final two‑and‑a‑half years suspended, requiring a good‑behaviour bond for that period. Lucaci had no prior convictions in Ireland or Romania and had been living in Ireland for three months as a gardener when the incident occurred.
In 2012, Andrew Gibney (24) of Mulhuddart was part of a group that stabbed Gerard Burnett (28) outside his girlfriend's house, resulting in Burnett's death after 30 stab wounds. Gibney pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court and was convicted of murder by a 10‑2 jury verdict, receiving a mandatory life sentence on 28 January 2014. He appealed, arguing a miscarriage of justice, citing a UK Supreme Court ruling on joint enterprise that clarified that a person who participates in an attack but does not intend serious harm may be guilty of manslaughter rather than murder. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice Garrett Sheehan, found that the trial judge failed to direct the jury on this partial defence and allowed the appeal. Gibney was remanded in custody for a retrial at the Central Criminal Court.
In a judgment on 11 November 2016, Mr Justice Alan Mahon dismissed an appeal against the 14‑year prison sentence imposed on a 53‑year‑old man for multiple sexual offences. The man had pleaded guilty to one count of rape and six counts of sexual assault of his sister, aged five to nine, between 1978 and 1981, and to five counts of defilement of a child, one count of oral rape and three counts of sexual assault of his niece, aged 14, between 2005 and 2007. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy had originally imposed consecutive sentences of seven years each, suspending the final two years, on 6 July 2015. The appeal argued that the judge had misjudged the gravity of the offences and ignored mitigating factors; the Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence as "reasonable and appropriate".
A rape victim has applied to the High Court for a freezing order over a €17,225 award that was granted to her attacker, Darius Savickis, by the Court of Appeal. The award was originally €225, increased by the Court of Appeal after Savickis was found liable for assaulting a prison officer while serving a six‑year sentence in Castlerea Prison. Savickis, 46, is a Lithuanian‑born father of two who pleaded guilty in 2009 to orally raping a 23‑year‑old woman in Galway. The victim, who has initiated a civil action for damages, seeks to prevent the award from being dissipated if she is successful. She alleges post‑traumatic stress disorder and claims the award was obtained under circumstances that may be statute‑barred. The High Court has granted her lawyers permission to serve short notice of the proceedings on Savickis and the matter is set to return next week.
Thomas "Slab" Murphy, 67, was found guilty by a Special Criminal Court of nine tax‑law violations covering 1996‑2004 and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. He pleaded not guilty at the non‑jury court. His barrister, John Kearney QC, appealed the conviction, arguing that all the tax evaded was actually paid by Murphy's brother, Patrick. Kearney said the court had relied on a 10‑page verdict that he claimed was inadequately brief and that it misrepresented evidence, including a claim that Murphy had signed a form that the expert had not seen. He also noted that exculpatory documents were omitted from the verdict. The appeal lists 48 grounds in seven core areas, including questions of independence, admissibility of statements, statutory and documentary presumptions, and alleged defects in direction and verdict. The hearing is scheduled to last three days before the Court of Appeal judges.
An ex‑soldier aged 42 was convicted by a military court of sexual assault and four charges of conduct contrary to good order and discipline at Aiken Barracks, Dundalk, on 30 October 2013. The military judge, Colonel Michael Campion, imposed fines, a demotion and a discharge. The soldier's counsel, Roderick O'Hanlon SC, appealed the sentence, arguing the punishment was excessive and that the judge had not considered the effect on the soldier's pension. O'Hanlon contended that the sexual assault charge concerned only the incident in the shower, while other charges related to separate incidents in the sauna and gym. The Court of Appeal heard the appeal and reserved judgment, noting that the soldier had been found guilty and that the appeal concerned only the severity of the sentence. The appeal was not yet decided.
In 2016 the Court of Appeal overturned Andrew Gibney's murder conviction for the 2012 stabbing of Gerard Burnett. Gibney, 24, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court and was found guilty by a jury 10‑2, receiving a mandatory life sentence. His counsel argued a miscarriage of justice, citing a UK Supreme Court ruling on joint enterprise that clarified that a person who participates in an attack but does not intend serious harm may be guilty of manslaughter rather than murder. The appeal focused on whether the trial judge failed to direct the jury on a partial defence, allowing the jury to consider that Gibney had left the scene before the fatal wounds were inflicted. The Court of Appeal agreed, ruled the judge in error, and ordered a retrial, remanding Gibney in custody for two weeks.
Ron Tulie, an ex-fireman aged 58, had his five‑year jail term cut to two on appeal after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual intercourse with a 16‑year‑old girl. The girl met Tulie during a transition‑year fire safety course she attended at her school. After the course ended, Tulie maintained contact with her and her friends via email and Bebo, and later took the girl on drives and up the Dublin mountains where the first offence occurred. The girl suffered health problems after the interactions. Tulie was arrested in 2012, pleaded guilty, and was originally sentenced to seven years with the final two suspended. The Court of Appeal found the maximum sentence applied was incorrect and re‑sentenced him to four years with the final two years suspended, requiring a good‑behaviour bond for the suspended period.
Naila Zaffer, 38, a former senior insurance claims official, was found guilty of defrauding her employer, IPB Insurance, of €220,000 over six years. She pleaded guilty to ten counts of using a false instrument, theft and attempted theft between April 2007 and August 2012. In May 2015, Judge Terence O'Sullivan imposed a wholly suspended two‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence. The Court of Appeal, hearing an application from the Director of Public Prosecutions, ruled that the sentence was "unduly lenient" and ordered a fresh hearing in December. The appeal judge noted that Zaffer had no prior convictions, had lost her job, and that the fraud was pre‑meditated and prolonged. The case was remitted for the probation service to prepare reports before the new sentencing hearing.
In 2016 the Court of Appeal considered an appeal against a High Court ruling that 76‑year‑old Russian Mr Sergey Chesnokov was born in Dublin on 28 September 1940 and should have his birth officially registered in Ireland. Chesnokov, a Moscow resident, had applied to the Registrar General to register his birth so he could spend more time in Ireland where his son and grandchildren live. The Registrar General had refused the application, citing insufficient independent evidence. Chesnokov challenged the refusal in the High Court, where Justice John Hedigan found it probable that he was born in Dublin and ordered the birth to be registered. The Registrar General appealed, arguing the challenge was untimely and that Chesnokov's parents had not wanted an Irish birth registration due to fear of Soviet authorities, yet had listed Dublin as the place of birth when registering in Russia.
The Court of Appeal reduced the life sentence of a 40‑year‑old Dublin man, who had pleaded guilty to fourteen counts of sexual assault and defilement of an 11‑year‑old boy, to 15 years imprisonment. The man had previously been convicted of sexual offences and had avoided reporting a change of address to the sex offenders register. He had spent three years in a rehabilitation programme at Arbour Hill prison before sentencing. The Court held that his rehabilitation efforts moved the case out of the category for which a life sentence was appropriate. The Court also imposed 11‑year sentences for the sexual assault counts, to run concurrently from the original March 2014 date. The decision was based on the man's age, the duration of abuse, prior convictions and his rehabilitation work. The Court noted that the life sentence was a significant error in principle but still required a very significant sentence. The appeal was successful.
Marcin Kazinski, 39, of Cappoquin, Waterford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm after a crash on 23 December 2011 that left his 12‑year‑old daughter with horrendous injuries, including spastic quadriplegia. He had been heavily intoxicated the day before the accident, and alcohol remained in his bloodstream at the time of the crash, though he had not drunk on the day itself. The original sentence, imposed by Judge Keenan Johnson at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court on 17 April 2013, was 240 hours of community service and a 10‑year driving disqualification. On 24 October 2016 the Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice George Birmingham, reduced the disqualification to three years, citing the family's difficulties and the need for the father to drive to care for his daughter. The Court noted that the original 10‑year period was longer than statute allowed under the circumstances. The decision was made without altering the community service requirement.
Finbarr O'Rourke, 41, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of four‑year‑old Ciarán Treacy in Portarlington on 17 April 2014. He was sentenced to seven‑and‑a‑half years imprisonment by Judge Keenan Johnson at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court on 3 November 2015. O'Rourke's barrister, Conor Devally SC, appealed today, arguing the tariff was too high and mitigation was insufficient. Devally said the judge was moved by the case and that O'Rourke should be seen as an example rather than an individual. He highlighted O'Rourke's lack of prior convictions, his professional driving background, and his recent efforts to change his relationship with alcohol. The appeal also noted O'Rourke's failure to remain at the scene, his phone call to a companion after the crash, and the impact of these factors on the sentencing decision. The Court of Appeal will decide next week.
Neil Mannion, 35, of Dublin, was sentenced to six‑and‑a‑half years for possessing €143,000 of LSD, amphetamine and cannabis resin with intent to sell or supply. He admitted guilt and described how the drugs were sold on the dark net, a part of the internet likened to eBay or Amazon. Mannion was the main beneficiary and organiser of the operation. His co‑accused received a three‑year sentence. At the Court of Appeal, Mannion's barrister, Michael Bowman SC, argued that the harsher sentence was disproportionate and that Mannion's cooperation with investigators should not lead to a harsher outcome. The three‑judge panel, led by Justices George Birmingham, John Edwards and Alan Mahon, could not decide immediately and reserved judgment, stating a decision would be made in the coming weeks. The unnamed accused pleaded guilty.
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on whether a trial of a man who worked voluntarily in a children's home run by a religious order in Dublin from 1974 should proceed. The case involves historic sexual abuse allegations, including rape, made by several complainants. The indictment was amended before the trial, shifting alleged offence dates for the first two complainants while leaving the third unchanged. After the jury was sworn, the accused's barrister, Caroline Biggs SC, applied for rulings to stop the trial, amend the indictment, or exclude the complainants' evidence. The trial judge denied these applications, suggesting prohibition could be sought. A High Court judgment in February refused leave to seek prohibition, and the matter now rests with the Court of Appeal. Ms Biggs argued the High Court used the wrong test and that the complainants' statements could not be true, citing incorrect original dates. The Court of Appeal will decide on Thursday.
A 44‑year‑old Nigerian woman was given a wholly suspended four‑year sentence by Judge Patrick McCartan on 22 May 2014 for assault causing harm to her daughter and three counts of neglect and ill treatment of her children aged 2, 4 and 8 in Kildare in August 2012. The Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal on 28 July 2016. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan noted that Gardaí arrived at the home in August 2012 and found the woman extremely intoxicated, the house in a state of filth, and the children lying in a bed soaked in urine with soiled nappies. Powdered milk four months out of date and no fresh food were also found. The children were unkempt and the four‑year‑old was not speaking. The social worker described the conditions as appalling and one of the most horrific incidents seen in ten years. The children were taken into foster care. The unnamed 44-year-old pleaded guilty.
The Court of Appeal ordered a retrial for Romanian national Ciprian Grozavu (42) after finding that the trial judge should have simply answered "yes" to a jury question. Grozavu had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Duke on 12 November 2011 and was convicted of that murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court, receiving a mandatory life sentence on 17 July 2013. During the trial, the jury asked the judge whether they could find one defendant guilty of murder without prejudicing the verdict in the case of the other defendant, referring to his girlfriend Catherine O'Connor (40). The judge replied that he was only concerned with Grozavu's case, a response the Court of Appeal deemed "of concern" and likely to have confused the jury. The Court therefore set aside the murder verdict and directed a retrial. Grozavu has also appealed his conviction for the murder of John Forrester.
Martin McBride, 47, of Enniscorthy, pleaded guilty in 2011 to possessing €97,000 of cannabis for sale in Cork. He was later caught with €40,000 of cannabis in Wexford. The Cork Circuit Criminal Court sentenced him to seven years, and the Wexford Circuit Criminal Court imposed a mandatory minimum of ten years, consecutive to the Cork offence. McBride appealed in February, arguing he had been hit with a statutory "double whammy" and had no prior convictions. The Court of Appeal, exercising its inherent jurisdiction, found the overall sentence unduly harsh and quashed the original seven‑year Cork term, replacing it with a four‑year term. McBride's final sentence was reduced to 14 years imprisonment, with the Wexford ten‑year term remaining consecutive. The decision was made in the interests of justice and to uphold constitutional principles.
Michael Byrne, a 46‑year‑old convicted drug dealer, lost an appeal against a confiscation order. He had claimed €40,000 in bank accounts from "nixers" while working as a tiler. In March 2010 he was sentenced to 17 years after packages of diamorphine worth about €6 million were found in a van. The Director of Public Prosecutions sought to confiscate the €40,253 in his accounts. A forensic accountant testified that Byrne's declared income was about €43,000 net and he spent about €188,000 net during the period in question. Judge Tony Hunt ordered the confiscation on 31 July 2012. Byrne appealed, arguing the judge had admitted a statement lacking evidential value. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice George Birmingham, rejected the appeal, upheld the confiscation order, and affirmed that the funds were likely proceeds of "nixers" or drug trafficking, with no credible alternative explanation provided.
Thomas "Slab" Murphy, a 66-year-old appellant, was told by the Court of Appeal that his application for bail pending an appeal would not be heard. Murphy, who pleaded not guilty to nine charges of failing to comply with tax laws in the Irish Republic, was convicted on all counts by the Special Criminal Court and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on February 26. His appeal against conviction is scheduled for November 8. During case management procedures, his barrister, Tony McGillicuddy BL, raised the bail application, which had been listed for hearing the following Friday. However, Mr Justice George Birmingham stated that there was no reality to the application being heard. The judge conveyed that the court's view was that the case would not "remotely come close" to meeting the legal threshold for bail. Mr Justice Birmingham noted that Murphy had already been facilitated by receiving a hearing date before his submissions were ready. Consequently, the bail application was effectively dismissed at this procedural stage, and Murphy must wait until the November 8 appeal hearing. Murphy was not present in court for these proceedings.
Liam McCann, aged 26, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, damage to a house and unlawful taking of a car at a woman's home near Scarawalsh, Co. Wexford, on 11 August 2014. He had been drinking and taking drugs for two or three days before the incident. McCann forcefully entered the victim's home at 4 pm, threw himself against a living‑room window, climbed in, put two young children into a cupboard, took two knives, and threatened the woman. He stole her car, crashed it into a wall, attempted to stop passing motorists, and waded across the River Slaney before being apprehended at Gorry Garda Station. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with the final six months suspended. His appeal against the sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which held that the term reflected the seriousness of the offence.
Donal Ryan, 49, of Kingsfort Avenue, Mallow, pleaded guilty in 2014 to possessing almost €100,000 worth of cannabis for sale or supply at Annakissa, Co Cork. He was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, with the final two years suspended. Ryan appealed the sentence, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, ruling that the eight‑year term was within the available range. The court noted that Gardaí had conducted a surveillance operation targeting Ryan, who was observed at an isolated church and later arrested when cannabis worth €96,000 was seized from a van. Ryan claimed he was a "collector and store man," a role the judge deemed higher than mere storage. His barrister argued that the Criminal Assets Bureau had returned his Q7 jeep and that his partner was working, but the court found no error in the sentencing decision. The appeal was dismissed by Justices Birmingham, Sheehan and Edwards.
Kenneth Shanny, a 39‑year‑old tax advisor from Dunshaughlin, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for aiding and abetting the filing of incorrect VAT returns and claiming tax relief between November 2009 and April 2010. The judge suspended the final 18 months of the sentence. Shanny had previously served a sentence for theft from 2011 to 2012. He pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Criminal Court and was found to have processed VAT returns for two clients, intending to divide €62,000 recovered from the tax authorities. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, ruling that the sentence lay within the available range. The appeal was heard by Justices Alan Mahon, George Birmingham and Garrett Sheehan. The decision was based on the seriousness of the breach of trust and the substantial loss to the Revenue. The appeal was dismissed.
In July 2016 the Court of Appeal dismissed an action by Tipperary‑based solicitors who sought the reopening of the historic Tipperary Town courthouse. The lawyers argued that the Courts Service, under the Court Services Act 1998, had a statutory duty to maintain and provide the courthouse, and that the State's failure to do so breached the rights of the public, court staff, the judiciary and the legal profession. The Courts Service had closed the building in 2010 after it fell into disrepair, citing a lack of resources, and had provided alternative venues for court sittings. Mr Justice George Birmingham in the High Court refused to make the requested declarations and rejected the claim of a statutory duty to provide particular facilities at a particular location.
The Court of Appeal has overturned a Circuit Court ruling that a man was unfit to stand trial for dangerous driving causing death. Robert Harrison, aged 25, of Shantonagh in Monaghan, faces charges relating to a collision at Drung, Cootehill, County Cavan in November 2009, in which a passenger died and another was seriously injured. Judge Pauline Codd had determined in July 2014 that Mr Harrison was unfit to be tried. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed that determination. Mr Justice John Edwards, delivering judgment, found the original ruling was erroneous in principle. He stated that the trial judge had conflated the question of fitness to plead with whether a fair trial could be afforded, and that the public interest in prosecution had not been properly weighed against the defendant's trial rights. The court indicated the case should proceed to trial, with the trial judge to review its viability. Mr Harrison was remanded on bail pending the next sitting of Cavan Circuit Criminal Court in November.
The Court of Appeal upheld the five‑year suspended sentences imposed on Warren Bale, 45, of Castlecurragh Vale, and his nephew Kaide Fowler, 28, of Deanstown Avenue, Finglas, for their roles as "pickers" in a cannabis‑grow‑house operation. The DPP had appealed the sentences, arguing that the judge had not considered the commercial scale of the operation and had failed to weigh aggravating factors. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Paul Butler, ruled that the trial judge had fully appreciated the seriousness of the offences and the damage caused by drug abuse. He noted that Bale's early guilty plea and lack of prior convictions were not alone sufficient for a suspended sentence, but his dependence on cannabis after a serious road‑traffic accident and subsequent addiction were mitigating.
In a Court of Appeal hearing, Andrew Smith (24) contested the claim that he had locked his girlfriend, Chloe Cherry, in a dog cage during an assault. Smith, who pleaded guilty to assaulting Cherry on 27 October 2013, was sentenced in June 2015 to two and a half years in prison, with the final six months suspended. His lawyer, Patrick McCullough BL, argued that the cage allegation was a disputed fact denied by Smith and that the judge treated it as an aggravating factor without investigating it. He also claimed the trial judge failed to consider rehabilitation, Smith's lack of prior convictions, early guilty plea, remorse, and compensation offered. The State's lawyer, Orla Crowe BL, maintained the cage claim was part of the evidence and that it was the defence's responsibility to challenge it. The judge reserved judgment until 5 July.
An ex‑soldier aged 42, whose lawyers argued that indecent proposals or behaviour did not amount to sexual assault, had his appeal against a court‑martial dismissed by the Court of Appeal. He had been convicted on a charge of sexual assault and four charges of conduct contrary to good order and discipline at Aiken Barracks, Dundalk, on 30 October 2013. The Defence Force board imposed penalties ranging from fines to detention and discharge. In the appeal, the barrister contended that indecent proposals or behaviour do not constitute a sexual assault. Justice Alan Mahon rejected this, describing the victim's account of the soldier's repeated unwanted advances, including entering a female changing area and shower cubicle while undressed, exposing himself, and the victim's feelings of fear, discomfort and violation. The Court of Appeal found the evidence sufficient to uphold the original conviction and dismissed the appeal. The former soldier remains on continuing bail pending his sentence hearing.
A 40‑year‑old married father of three from Munster, who had been convicted of threatening a sex worker in 2010, had his 18‑month jail term reduced to nine months on appeal. He had pleaded not guilty to two counts of threatening or putting a witness in fear between April 29 and May 28, 2010. A jury found him guilty after a six‑day trial and he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with 18 months suspended, by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy on 25 January 2016. On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that insufficient weight had been given to his status as a first‑time offender and to the severe impact incarceration would have on his very young family. Mr Justice Alan Mahon noted that the man had sent "lurid and threatening" messages to the sex worker, threatening to expose her work to her family and neighbours unless she withdrew criminal allegations.
In a 2016 appeal, the Court of Appeal overturned a trial judge's decision to exclude evidence from mobile phone masts, which prosecutors had argued would create ongoing difficulties in criminal trials. The appeal, taken with prejudice, followed the directed acquittal of two men for an alleged historic crime; the identities and details of the alleged crime cannot be published as they are not currently charged. The judge had ruled the mast records inadmissible because there was no "appropriate authoritative evidence" describing the system's function for the relevant dates. The Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice George Birmingham, found that the judge erred, noting that the data were reliable and that the prosecution had not sought precise locations but general directions. The court will consider whether a retrial is appropriate on July 21. The decision underscores that the exclusion of such evidence was incorrect and that the evidence was compelling.
A 66‑year‑old man who had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault against his niece, aged five, six and eight between 2003 and 2006, was originally given a wholly suspended five‑year sentence by Judge Thomas Teehan on 17 December 2015. Prosecutors appealed, and the Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice George Birmingham, resentenced him to five years' imprisonment with the final four years suspended. The judge described the assaults as involving rubbing the victim's private parts inside her underwear when she was five, forced masturbation when she was six, and digital penetration when she was eight. He noted the victim's powerful impact report and the family's distress. The court acknowledged mitigating factors such as the man's early plea, good character, and remorse, but concluded that custodial time was necessary. The man was ordered to serve the custodial portion of his sentence and to comply with a good‑behaviour bond and restrictions on contact with minors.
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on whether a consecutive sentence can commence earlier when the sentence it follows is under appeal. The case involves a man convicted in Carlow District Court of assault causing harm in January 2016 and sentenced to nine months imprisonment. In April 2016, while still in custody for that sentence, he was convicted in Athlone District Court of driving without insurance and sentenced to three months imprisonment consecutive to the Carlow sentence. He appealed the first sentence and was released on his own bond, but remains in custody under the second sentence, which he argues is illegal because the warrant states the three‑month sentence should only take effect after the nine‑month sentence has legally expired, which is pending appeal. His lawyers filed an Article 40 application for immediate release; Mr Justice Michael White upheld the detention, stating the three‑month sentence was "certain" and must be served unless appealed.
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.
Noel Smith otherwise Smyth, 53, of Manomolin, Gorey, was convicted of harassment, making an unwarranted demand with menaces and money laundering between April and June 2009. He pleaded not guilty at Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court, was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment, with the final three years suspended by Judge Gerard Giffin on 7 April 2014. The prosecution argued that a named individual received drugs from Smith about fifteen times and was pressured by Smith to pay for them; the individual had gone to his mother for money in summer 2008 and entered rehab in March 2009. Smith's appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which found the trial satisfactory and the conviction safe. The appeal was rejected on grounds including telephone records, search warrants and the alleged hoax bomb device found under a mother‑of‑three's car in June 2009.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeals of brothers Wayne and John Dundon against their convictions for making threats to kill. Wayne Dundon (37) was found guilty by the Special Criminal Court in 2012 of threatening Alice Collins that he would kill or cause serious harm to her sons, Gareth and Jimmy Collins, on September 30, 2010. He was also convicted of intimidating potential prosecution witnesses Alice and April Collins to obstruct justice. John Dundon (33) was found guilty of threatening to kill April Collins on April 3, 2011. The Special Criminal Court sentenced Wayne to six years' imprisonment and John to five-and-a-half years on April 18, 2012. In its judgment, the Court of Appeal affirmed these convictions, rejecting arguments regarding the reliability of visual identification and the use of telephone transcripts. Mr Justice Birmingham noted that the trial judges were entitled to make findings of fact based on the evidence heard. The court also dismissed arguments concerning CCTV footage and the reliance on witness evidence from a separate trial. Wayne Dundon is currently serving a mandatory life sentence for the murder of Roy Collins in 2009, a charge to which he and co-accused Nathan Killeen pleaded not guilty before being found guilty by the Special Criminal Court. The brothers were led away to continue serving their prison sentences following the dismissal of their appeals.
In a 2016 Court of Appeal decision, the appeal of Michael Harty, aged 31, was dismissed. Harty had been convicted of dangerous driving that caused the deaths of Maurice Hartnett (61) and Margaret Hartnett (59) in 2009 and received a five‑year sentence and a 30‑year driving ban. The appeal concerned whether Harty's consent was required for the Gardaí to obtain a toxicology report from Limerick University Hospital. The court held that the public interest in prosecuting a suspected serious crime outweighed Harty's right to privacy. It found that the Gardaí's request for the blood‑alcohol report was proportionate and that Harty's consent was not necessary. The appeal was therefore dismissed by Justice Garrett Sheehan, sitting with Justices George Birmingham and John Edwards. The decision reaffirmed that the need for evidence in serious criminal cases can override an individual's privacy rights. Michael Harty pleaded not guilty.
In a 2016 Court of Appeal decision, the appeal court overturned a District Court ruling that had declared breathalyser statements printed only in English invalid. The case stemmed from a 2014 prosecution of 29‑year‑old Mihai Avadenei in Swords, Co. Dublin, where the Evidenzer Irl breathalyser produced two identical statements—one in English and one in Irish—for the suspect and a Garda to sign. The District Court judge, Colin Gibbons, held that the absence of the Irish half meant the document was not "duly completed" and could not be admitted as evidence. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice John Edwards, found that the omission was a procedural formality, not a substantive defect, citing Section 12 of the Interpretation Act 2005. The appeal was allowed, affirming that the statements were in the prescribed form and thus admissible, and the court will later consider costs.
The Court of Appeal has provisionally fixed October 28 for two sets of proceedings concerning Ali Charaf Damache, an Irish-Algerian citizen wanted by US authorities on international terrorism charges. The Attorney General is appealing the High Court's May refusal to order Damache's surrender, a decision based on Justice Aileen Donnelly's finding of a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment in the USA. Although Damache's barrister, Mark Lynam BL, stated that Damache is currently undergoing extradition proceedings in Spain following his arrest there, the Director of Public Prosecutions intends to proceed with the appeal. Simultaneously, Damache is appealing the severity of his sentence for sending a menacing phone call to Majed Moughni in January 2010. Damache initially pleaded not guilty at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court but pleaded guilty on the sixth day of his trial. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended, by Judge Donagh McDonagh on February 27, 2013. The State has argued this sentence appeal is moot given the extradition developments. Justice George Birmingham agreed to hear all matters on the same date. The US alleges Damache conspired with Colleen LaRose, known as "Jihad Jane," to create a terror cell and facilitate identity theft for Al Qaeda members. LaRose was jailed for ten years in 2014 for a plot to murder cartoonist Lars Vilks. If convicted in the US, Damache faces up to 45 years in prison.
In 2010, 30‑year‑old Shane Millea stabbed his cousin Paul Harris to death with a flick knife. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was originally sentenced to ten years, with two years suspended, on the condition he never possessed a knife again. Millea appealed in 2014, arguing that his immediate remorse, staying at the scene, contacting emergency services and attempting CPR were mitigating factors. The Court of Appeal agreed, reducing the sentence to eight years with the final three years suspended. The court noted that Millea had acted in self‑defence after Harris attacked him with an axe handle, and that the offence was not at the upper end of the scale. The appeal court set aside the original ten‑year sentence and imposed the revised eight‑year term with a suspended portion, subject to good behaviour for four years. The decision was made without reference to any subsequent developments.
In a 2016 appeal, the Court of Appeal reserved judgment on the conviction of Andrew Gibney, 23, who was found guilty of murder for stabbing Gerard Burnett, 28, in 2012. Gibney had pleaded not guilty but accepted moral and legal guilt, while his counsel argued a miscarriage of justice, citing a UK Supreme Court ruling on joint enterprise that clarified the limits of moral guilt for participants in escalated crimes. The appeal focused on Gibney's intent to harm but not kill, and whether the jury could have considered a partial defence. The Director of Public Prosecutions maintained that intent was a matter for the jury, and that Gibney's participation as a principal made the fatal wound unprovable but irrelevant. The court, presided over by Justices Birmingham, Sheeehan and Edwards, decided to reserve judgment on the case.
A 41‑year‑old man, whose identity is withheld to protect the victim, was convicted of 25 counts of sexual assault, one attempted buggery and one buggery against a boy in the midlands between February 1991 and February 1999. He was jailed for eight years by Judge Terence O'Sullivan on 8 May 2014. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against conviction on all grounds. Justice Alan Mahon noted unusual features: the alleged victims were twin brothers, the offences occurred near their family home where the man worked as a labourer from the boy's age of seven, and only one brother was found guilty. The sexual activity did not involve threats or violence, and consensual activity occurred when the boy reached adulthood. Complaints were made 20 years after the assaults began and seven years after the consensual act in 2004. The court found the evidence sufficient for a jury verdict, and the appeal was dismissed. The unnamed 41-year-old pleaded not guilty.
In 2016 the Court of Appeal dismissed Brian Meehan's application to have his 1999 conviction for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin declared a miscarriage of justice, ruling it an abuse of process. Meehan, 47, had sought to quash the conviction on the basis of alleged new evidence from the 2001 Special Criminal Court trial of John Gilligan, who was acquitted of Guerin's murder. The court found no new facts had emerged and that all material Meehan cited had been available since the Gilligan trial. It held that Meehan's attempt to revive arguments years later, without proper disclosure or new evidence, was unacceptable. The appeal was refused and Meehan remains serving a life sentence in Portlaoise prison. The decision was upheld by the panel of judges, including Justice George Birmingham. The family expressed relief at the outcome.
Liam McCann, 26, of Enniscorthy, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, damage to a house and unlawful car removal on 11 August 2014. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with the final six months suspended. McCann claimed he had been drinking and taking drugs for two or three days before the incident, and that he believed the British army and gardaí were after him. He allegedly entered the victim's home with a knife to his own throat, took a car, and fled across fields and a river before being arrested. The Court of Appeal heard that McCann was a first‑time offender with a good character record, had completed significant third‑level education, and had shown remorse. His appeal outcome is pending. The court reserved judgment.
In 2015, former Anglo Irish Bank Chief Operations Officer Tiarnan O'Mahoney was convicted by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury of conspiring to conceal or alter bank accounts sought by Revenue. He was jailed for three years. The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial. O'Mahoney, aged 57, was remanded on continuing bail until July 22, 2016, with a trial date set for October 24, 2016 and a provisional date of October 9, 2017. Judge Melanie Greally noted the case was expected to last six weeks and would be scheduled either in October or November 2016, or October 2017 if not ready earlier. The Court also addressed legal costs, awarding costs for the appeal and ancillary applications but reserving costs for the retrial. The case remains pending, with the retrial to be held before Judge Greally. Tiarnan O'Mahoney pleaded not guilty.
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on whether to return Jordan O'Donovan, 21, to jail for a nightclub glass assault. O'Donovan pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to another man in a Cork nightclub on 27 December 2013. He was sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to three years imprisonment, with the final two years suspended by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on 28 October 2014. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) appealed, arguing the sentence was "unduly lenient". DPP counsel Donal O'Sullivan BL said O'Donovan struck a young man with a glass, causing severe facial injuries that required surgery, and that the Circuit Court judge erred in not stating the offence's severity on the scale. He claimed the custodial element was "significantly out of kilter" and that a starting point of four to seven years is required for mid‑range serious assaults.
In 2016 the Court of Appeal heard Wayne Dundon's appeal against a 2012 conviction for threatening to kill Alice Collins and her sons. Dundon, aged 37, was found guilty by the Special Criminal Court of threatening to kill or seriously harm the Collins children and of intimidating potential witnesses. His brother John, aged 33, was also convicted of threatening to kill April Collins. Both were sentenced to six and five‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment respectively. Dundon's counsel, Michael Bowman SC, sought to add new grounds to the appeal, citing telephone recordings made while Dundon was in prison and questioning the reliability of witness Gareth Collins' testimony. Bowman also alleged that the Collins family could have fabricated statements and that CCTV cameras may have been non‑functional. The Director of Public Prosecutions objected, and the judges ruled that any additional grounds must be presented as a formal motion before the full hearing tomorrow.
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgement on the appeal of Kevin Mulcahy, a 57‑year‑old former Cork GP, who was convicted of indecently assaulting a 15‑year‑old girl in 1989. Mulcahy pleaded not guilty to the single charge and was found guilty after a retrial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, where the jury deliberated for 39 minutes. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on 25 November 2015. In December 2015 he was granted bail pending appeal. Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC argued that Mulcahy's trial was unfair because the judge failed to give a corroboration warning and because Mulcahy's right to silence was infringed when he declined to answer further questions after his initial statement to the Gardai. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, has reserved judgement and Mulcahy remains on continuing bail.
Magnus Meyer Hustveit, 26, was re‑sentenced by the Court of Appeal to 15 months imprisonment after a wholly suspended seven‑year sentence for raping his 28‑year‑old girlfriend between 2011 and 2012 was deemed "unduly lenient". The appeal was brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The judge noted that the victim had awoken to find herself covered in sperm and later penetrated, with no knowledge of the acts. Hustveit had cooperated, voluntarily returned to Ireland to face charges, and had a good character record. The judge said the original seven‑year sentence would remain, with all but 15 months suspended. Hustveit was required to enter a seven‑year good‑behaviour bond and was placed on the sex offenders register. The victim, Niamh Ní Domhnaill, was present with supporters. The court did not allow new evidence to be heard, relying on transcripts and documents. The decision was read without Hustveit's reaction. Magnus Meyer Hustveit pleaded guilty.