Court archive
Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court
2023-03-10 · Wicklow
In a Dalkey coastal attack on 20 November 2020, 20‑year‑old Jakub Kaczar, then on bail, assaulted three victims at Hawk Cliff. He covered his hand in blood from a head cut and ran it along the face of Aisling Leahy, placing his fingers in her mouth, causing her to undergo blood tests and suffer great distress over a possible disease. Kaczar also punched David Morrell in the face and head, demanding an apology, and pushed Ciara Walsh onto a bench, bruising her leg. He pleaded guilty to separate counts of assaulting Morrell, Walsh and Leahy. The court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions, and imposed concurrent sentences of 18 months for Walsh and two‑and‑a‑half years for Leahy, all to run consecutively to his existing 16‑month term.
2022-01-25 · Wicklow
Paul Nolan, 57, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment with two years suspended for two counts of possession of child pornography involving bestiality images. The offence was committed between January and September 2013. Nolan appealed, arguing the judge had not considered the time elapsed between the offence and sentencing and the relatively small number of images. The Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to two years' imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended for three years, and imposed a three‑year probation period. Nolan had no prior convictions and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. He was also deemed a candidate for the Safer Lives rehabilitation programme. The appeal was heard by Justice Patrick McCarthy, Justice Isobel Kennedy and Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh. The case was originally heard in Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court.
2019-02-19 · Wicklow
Mark O'Sullivan, 29, of Old Connaught View, Bray, was convicted of assault causing serious harm after striking David Kirwan with a single blow to the head on 15 January 2017 near James Everett Park. Kirwan suffered catastrophic injuries, including brain damage, seizures, memory loss and hearing loss, and was in a medically‑induced coma for days. O'Sullivan pleaded guilty and was sentenced on 28 April 2018 to seven years' imprisonment, with the final two‑and‑a‑half years suspended. He had no prior convictions. O'Sullivan has now lodged an appeal against the severity of the sentence, arguing that the seven‑year term was too high given his lack of intent and remorse. His barrister, Michael O'Higgins SC, contends the sentence is disproportionate, while the Director of Public Prosecutions, Eoghan Cole BL, maintains the attack was unprovoked and the seven‑year term appropriate. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment.
2018-04-17 · Wicklow
In 2018 the Court of Appeal upheld a seven‑year jail sentence for Damien Green, who was convicted of assault causing serious harm after slicing the face of his friend Richard Coster. The original trial at Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court had found Green guilty and sentenced him to ten years, with the final three years suspended. The appeal was dismissed because the sentencing judge's approach was deemed correct. Judge John Edwards noted that Coster, a friend of Green, had been heavily drinking and possibly under the influence of drugs on the day of the attack, which occurred at Green's apartment on Richmond Hill. Green had no memory of the events, had previously been uncooperative, and had a history of violent convictions. The judge placed the offence in the high range of seven to twelve years, citing Green's lack of mitigating factors and his prior violent record. The appeal was dismissed, confirming the original sentence. Damien Green pleaded not guilty.
2016-11-03 · Dublin
Gareth Quinn, 33, was sentenced to one year in prison for setting fire to a stolen BMW X5 and two other parked cars, causing €40,000 in damage. The incident occurred on 9 August 2015 when Quinn, under the influence of alcohol, crashed the BMW into a parked Audi TT and then attempted to dislodge it for 10–15 minutes before igniting the vehicle with a cigarette lighter. The fire spread to an Audi A4 and a Fiat Punto. Quinn, who has 71 prior convictions, pleaded guilty to unlawful use of the BMW and arson. The sentence is consecutive to his existing four‑year term for unlawful taking of a car, which began in April 2019. The court noted Quinn's intoxication and frustration as the motive for the arson. The case was heard at the Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court and the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The judge imposed the additional year of imprisonment, extending Quinn's current custodial period.
2016-02-08 · Wexford
Noel Smith otherwise Smyth, 53, of Gorey, Co Wexford, has appealed his conviction for harassment, making an unwarranted demand with menaces, and money laundering alleged between April and June 2009. At Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court, Smith pleaded not guilty but was found guilty by a jury. On April 7, 2014, Judge Gerard Giffin sentenced him to nine years' imprisonment, with the final three years suspended. The prosecution alleged Smith pressured a named individual to pay for drugs and made threatening calls to the individual's mother. Defence counsel Remy Farrell SC argued that police entry into Smith's dwelling was unlawful, noting Smith was "present with a pitchfork" when gardaí arrived with a warrant under section 29 of the Offences Against the State Act, a provision later ruled unconstitutional. Farrell contended that a detective sergeant's later assertion of section 6 arrest powers was a "legal confection" manufactured after the event, as the officer did not invoke such powers at the time. He described the silent invocation of police entry powers as "wholly obnoxious to Irish law." The Court of Appeal, comprising Mr Justice George Birmingham, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, and Mr Justice John Edwards, heard the arguments and reserved judgment. The matter remains pending, with no final decision issued.
2014-01-20 · Wicklow
In 2009 Raymond O'Shea was given a wholly suspended sentence of three‑and‑a‑half years for possessing a sawn‑off shotgun and 131 cartridges. He had 19 prior convictions, including drug possession and burglary, but had stopped using drugs, was employed and paying a mortgage. He pleaded not guilty. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient and that the judge had erred in allowing an exception to the mandatory five‑year minimum for unlawful firearm possession. The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, agreed with the DPP. Hardiman said the sentence should have been five years with four years suspended, describing the original suspended sentence as "extreme leniency". O'Shea will surrender to prison on 27 January to arrange his affairs.