Court archive
Paul Neilan The Supreme Court
2026-06-19 · Dublin
The Supreme Court will hear an appeal by Dean Byrne, a Dublin man with over 120 convictions, challenging his 2024 Special Criminal Court conviction for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Byrne was sentenced to two years for allegedly conspiring with Aaron Brady to dissuade witness Daniel Cahill from testifying in Brady's murder trial. The Court of Appeal previously rejected Byrne's bid to overturn this conviction, finding he used unlawful means by sending the witness's Garda statement to a third party. The Supreme Court will now consider whether it can ever be lawful to persuade a witness not to give evidence. Meanwhile, Aaron Brady, who pleaded guilty to two offences related to efforts at perverting the course of justice during his trial, was sentenced to three years. Brady is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for the 2013 murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. Byrne's appeal raises a question of public importance regarding the legality of witness persuasion, while his prior record includes an 18-year sentence for aggravated burglary in Tipperary.
2026-04-30 · Ireland
The Supreme Court has ruled that TikTok can continue operating in Ireland while it appeals a €530 million fine imposed by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) for alleged breaches of privacy laws. The DPC had accused TikTok of allowing user data to be accessed by engineers in China, violating EU data protection rules. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, had appealed the fine in the High Court, which granted a stay on the orders requiring the company to pay the fine and stop making user data accessible in China. The Supreme Court dismissed the DPC's appeal, stating that the test regarding the stay was a matter of national law, not EU law. The court emphasized the need to balance the potential irreparable harm to TikTok if the stay was not imposed against the public interest. The case is now set to proceed with the substantive appeal, with TikTok Technologies UK Ltd ultimately responsible for any fine. TikTok claims the DPC breached fair procedures in its decision.
2026-02-24 · Ireland
The Supreme Court will hear the appeal of a Romanian woman who was denied a carer's allowance for looking after her grandsons with serious special needs. The woman, who moved to Ireland in 2021, was refused the allowance because she was not considered an habitual resident and was deemed likely to become an unreasonable burden on the State. The case has been deemed of public importance due to its implications for EU law and the interpretation of what constitutes a worker. The woman's appeal hinges on the argument that it is unfair to deny an EU citizen the allowance when she provides 35 hours of weekly care in return for board and lodging, unlike an Irish citizen in the same situation. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case directly from the High Court, acknowledging the potential broader implications for EU citizens in Ireland.
2025-10-22 · Wicklow
Michael Lynn, a former solicitor convicted of stealing €18 million from Irish banks, is appealing to the Supreme Court to reduce his five‑and‑a‑half‑year prison term by crediting the four‑and‑a‑half years he served in Brazil's Cotel Prison. The Supreme Court will consider how remission for good behaviour, normally a 25 % discount in Ireland, should apply to time served abroad. Lynn was convicted on ten counts in February 2024 and sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Martin Nolan to 13 years, later reduced to 5 years 9 months after the Court of Appeal added three months for severity. The appeal focuses on whether the courts should aggregate his Brazilian imprisonment and apply remission for the entire period, rather than only time served in Ireland. The Supreme Court has allowed the challenge to proceed, noting no statutory formula exists for crediting time abroad. The outcome could increase or decrease his sentence.