Court archive
The appeal Court
2026-07-29 · Meath
A dangerous driver who gave gardai the 'middle finger' and reached speeds of around 170km/h on the M1 before acting 'extremely aggressively' during his arrest has failed in his appeal to overturn his conviction. Cornelius Kaiser (47) was convicted in the District Court of two counts of dangerous driving on the M1, along with other charges including failing to produce insurance and refusing to provide a blood or urine sample. He received a total of seven months imprisonment and a five-year driving ban. During the appeal, Garda Alan Macklin testified that on December 13, 2023, officers received an anonymous report of dangerous driving. The black Audi was seen weaving through traffic at high speeds, with the driver giving the gardai the middle finger. The vehicle was stopped at the toll, where the driver slammed the brakes and pushed past the barrier. Gardai boxed in the car, leading to Kaiser's arrest. He was highly aggressive and refused to provide a breath sample.
2025-07-22 · Kildare
Gerry Cash, 33, was convicted of trespassing on a vulnerable 88‑year‑old pensioner's home in County Kildare. The original sentence was nine months' custody with the final six months suspended. Cash appealed only the severity of the sentence, not the conviction. The appeal court, hearing evidence from Garda Padraig Murphy and a victim impact statement, found the original sentence too lenient. Judge Dara Hayes increased the effective custodial term from three to six months, suspending only the final three months for a twelve‑month period on the condition that Cash does not contact the victim or his family again. The appeal did not alter the conviction or the suspended portion; it merely doubled the effective custody from three to six months. The case remains at the appeal stage, with no further outcome reported.
2023-12-08 · Dublin
Oliver Doran, aged 24, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the axe murder of 76‑year‑old Kwok Ping Cheng in Dublin's Robinson's Court. Doran initially pleaded not guilty but later changed to guilty and was sentenced on 8 May 2023. The Central Criminal Court, presided over by Mr Justice David Keane, described the killing as "senseless" and imposed the maximum life sentence. The sentence was backdated to 17 January 2023, the date of Doran's guilty plea, and the Court of Appeal later further backdated it to 6 May 2021, the day Doran was first taken into custody. This adjustment allows Doran to apply for parole in 2033 instead of 2035. The case involved CCTV footage of Doran entering Cheng's apartment, forensic evidence of axe wounds, and Doran's prior 98 convictions. The appeal court upheld the backdating, noting that guilty pleas in murder cases are rare and that backdating is standard practice.
2014-07-17 · Limerick
The Court of Criminal Appeal issued a supplementary written judgment outlining the obligations of prosecution counsel at sentencing. It held that counsel must bring a judge's attention to sentencing guidance beyond that provided by the court itself, including reputable analyses of typical sentences for the offence. The court emphasised that if mitigation arguments presented by the defence are deemed insignificant or not properly mitigating, prosecution counsel should address this to the judge. The judgment was delivered in the case of Adam Fitzgibbon, a 20‑year‑old Limerick man who had appealed a 15‑year sentence for an unprovoked attack on a schoolboy. The appeal court substituted the 15‑year term with nine‑and‑a‑half years imprisonment. The court also referenced other recent appeals, including those of Kieran Ryan and a life‑sentence case, to illustrate its guidance on sentencing ranges and mitigation handling.
2014-02-10 · Wexford
In February 2014 the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the conviction of Stephen Kelly, a 44‑year‑old Wexford native, who had been sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment with six months suspended in January 2010 for possession of cannabis resin worth €245,000. The conviction was based on a 2005 jury verdict at the Wexford Circuit Criminal Court for possession of drugs for sale or supply at The Bullawn, New Ross. Kelly had pleaded not guilty and claimed he was unaware of the drugs in a van he entered, later asserting a lack of knowledge defence under Section 29 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The appeal court found that the trial judge had failed to properly instruct the jury on the duty of the defendant to prove lack of knowledge, and that the prosecution had not complied with the law. Consequently, the conviction was quashed and the Director of Public Prosecutions will not seek a retrial.
2013-12-09 · Dublin
In 2011 a 36‑year‑old man, Robert Eustace, was fined €1,500 and disqualified from driving for eight years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving that caused the death of a 21‑year‑old woman. The Court of Criminal Appeal, hearing an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions, found the original sentence unduly lenient. The appeal court imposed a four‑year suspended custodial sentence, to be served during the eight‑year driving disqualification. The court noted that Eustace had a medical history of blackouts and had been advised not to drive heavy goods vehicles, a factor the original judge had not fully considered. The suspended sentence means that if Eustace drives any vehicle during the disqualification period he will be sent to jail. The case was heard in Wexford Circuit Criminal Court and later at the Court of Criminal Appeal presided by Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman.