Court archive
Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court
2018-10-25 · Tipperary
Stephen Brophy, aged 27, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assault causing harm in Ashbury View, Roscrea, during a feud between the McCarthy/O'Donoghues and the Hutchinson/Marshalls. He had thrown a pitchfork that bounced and struck a woman, Sharon McCarthy, on the lips, causing a scar and requiring surgery. The original sentence of seven years, with two years suspended, was quashed on appeal. He was re‑sentenced to four years for violent disorder (two years suspended) and three years for the assault (12 months suspended), with both terms running concurrently. Brophy must remain in good behaviour for two years after release and may not approach a McCarthy family member unless invited or in a friendly manner. The appeal was granted by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, with the Court of Appeal hearing the case.
2018-02-02 · Tipperary
John Joe Patterson, 57, was convicted by a jury at Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court of sexually abusing his two step‑daughters over a ten‑year period, beginning when they were nine. The women waived anonymity so Patterson could be named in the media. He received an effective sentence of eight years imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended, imposed by Judge John Hannan on 9 November 2015. More than two years later, Patterson applied to the Court of Appeal for an extension of time to bring an appeal. The Court, led by Mr Justice George Birmingham, refused the extension, citing "considerable difficulty" in accepting Patterson's claims that a misunderstanding had arisen from the indictment and that his former solicitor had advised that an appeal was not possible. The Court found the application to be "very significantly out of time" and not sufficiently grounded in the facts, and it was opposed by the State counsel Antonia Boyle BL.
2018-01-15 · Tipperary
Christopher McCarthy, 29, a homeless traveller with a long history of alcohol problems and 133 prior convictions, had previously pleaded guilty to criminal damage and obstruction of a Garda at Mr Cole's home in Roscrea and was sentenced to five years in prison. He had broken into the same home twice in May 2013. In June 2016 he successfully appealed and received a three‑year sentence with the final 12 months suspended on the condition that he stay away from Mr Cole and certain streets in Roscrea. In April he entered Mr Cole's home again, hiding behind a cardboard box, and was found by Gardaí. The Court of Appeal, after reviewing the breach, activated the suspended 12‑month sentence in full, back‑dated to 20 October, the expiry date of an earlier eight‑month District Court sentence for trespass.