Court archive
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2025-03-20 · Dublin
The Court of Appeal is hearing an appeal by Kevin Braney, who was convicted by the Special Criminal Court of the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly. Counsel for Braney argued that the conviction should be overturned because the trial relied on the evidence of David Cullen, a State's witness described as a perjurer and accomplice. Cullen had previously…
2022-03-31 · Gormanston, Meath
In March 2017 the Special Criminal Court sentenced Sharif Kelly, 51, and Edward McGrath, 39, to life imprisonment for the 2013 gun murder of 35‑year‑old Peter Butterly, a father of three, who was shot outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston. The murder trial lasted 35 days after a collapsed first trial in 2015. McGrath was also convicted of…
2020-12-10 · Gormanston, Meath
In December 2020 the Court of Appeal reserved judgment on the appeal of Sharif Kelly and Edward McGrath, who were convicted of murdering Peter Butterly in 2013. The men had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court. Their conviction relied heavily on testimony from former co‑accused David Cullen, who had pleaded guilty to…
2020-12-09 · Gormanston, Meath
In a murder conviction appeal, the DPP's counsel, Paul O'Higgins SC, acknowledged that David Cullen, a former murder suspect who became a State witness, was a 'tarnished' witness. Cullen had previously pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a semi‑automatic pistol and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, half suspended, for that offence.…
2020-12-08 · Gormanston, Meath
The appeal of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, who were convicted of the murder of Peter Butterly in 2013, is ongoing before the Court of Appeal. McGrath's barrister, Paul Greene SC, argued that while McGrath was 'caught red-handed' in the criminal enterprise, there was a lack of evidence regarding his state of mind at the time of the shooting.…
2020-12-07 · Gormanston, Meath
Two men, Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, are appealing their convictions for the murder of Peter Butterly, a dissident republican, in a five‑day hearing before the Court of Appeal. The appeal focuses on the reliability of evidence given by former murder suspect David Cullen, who became a State witness. Cullen's testimony, which lasted four and a…
2019-02-08 · Dublin
The leader of the so-called New IRA in Dublin, Kevin Braney (44), was today jailed for life for the murder of Peter Butterly (35) almost six years ago. Braney was found guilty by the Special Criminal Court last Monday of the 'premeditated' murder of Mr Butterly, who was chased and shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, Co Meath, on March…
2018-11-27 · Dublin
The Special Criminal Court trial of Kevin Braney, 44, of Tallaght, Dublin, continues before a three-judge panel. Mr Braney, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly and the unlawful possession of a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition, faces evidence from protected witness David Cullen. Cullen, who turned…
2018-07-20 · Dublin
A man arrested in Spain following his failure to appear at trial has pleaded guilty to murdering dissident republican Peter Butterly at the Special Criminal Court. Dean Evans, aged 27 and from Dublin, admitted to the charge of murdering Mr Butterly, who was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanstown, County Meath on 6 March 2013. Ms Justice…
2017-04-07 · Dublin
Two Dublin men, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (47), were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly (35), who was shot dead on 6 March 2013 outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston, Co. Meath. The Special Criminal Court described the killing as "premeditated slaughter". McGrath was also convicted of…
2017-03-09 · Gormanston, Meath
Two Dublin men, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (47), were found guilty by the Special Criminal Court of the callous, brutal and pre‑meditated murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly (35) on 6 March 2013 outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston. The court described the killing as an ambush carried out in the carpark, with Butterly shot by…
2017-02-27 · Dublin
Judges in the Special Criminal Court will deliver a verdict on March 9th in the murder trial of Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old dissident republican shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, on March 6th, 2013. Two Dublin men, Edward McGrath (35) of Springfield, Tallaght, and Sharif Kelly (47) of Balbriggan, are charged with the murder and…
2017-02-24 · Dublin
In the Special Criminal Court, two Dublin men, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (47), pleaded not guilty to the murder of Peter Butterly (35), who was shot outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, on 6 March 2013. McGrath also denied firearms offences. A third accused, Dean Evans (24), was absent. The court accepted evidence from protected…
2017-02-23 · Dublin
The Special Criminal Court has heard evidence in the ongoing trial of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, who are accused of the murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly and associated firearms offences. Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. A third accused, Dean Evans, failed to appear and has not been located; the non-jury court…
2017-02-22 · Dublin
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, forensic evidence was presented that strongly supports the view that Dean Evans, a 24‑year‑old Dublin man, was the gunman who shot Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old dissident republican, outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston on 6 March 2013. Dr John O'Shaughnessy, a forensic scientist, examined a grey knitted…
2017-02-20 · Gormanston, Meath
In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 20 February 2017, a defence barrister argued that the court had been misled regarding the evidence of a protected witness in the Peter Butterly murder case. Butterly, aged 35, was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston on 6 March 2013. David Cullen, originally accused, turned State witness over a…
2017-02-17 · Dublin
The Special Criminal Court heard a second day of arguments about whether the evidence of a protected witness, David Cullen, could be admitted in the murder trial of Peter Butterly. Butterly, 35, was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston on 6 March 2013. Cullen, who had been accused of the murder, turned State's witness after more than…
2017-02-16 · Dublin
The Special Criminal Court trial of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, who are accused of murdering dissident republican Peter Butterly in 2013, is currently at the procedural stage of a voir dire. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder, with McGrath additionally pleading not guilty to firearms offences on the same occasion. A third…
2017-02-15 · Gormanston, Meath
In a non‑jury trial for the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly, the court heard that Garda Joe Doyle, a PSV examiner, inspected a green Opel Zafira on 6 March 2013, six days after the shooting. Doyle reported that the vehicle showed "no faults" at the time of his examination, although the car's Engine Control Unit had recorded three historic faults…
2017-02-14 · Dublin
The Special Criminal Court is currently hearing a voir dire to determine the admissibility of evidence from David Cullen, a former accused who turned State's witness in the trial of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly. Both men, who have pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of Peter Butterly and, in McGrath's case, firearms offences, are…
2017-02-13 · Gormanston, Meath
In the Peter Butterly murder trial, a protected witness, David Cullen (32), testified that he was warned he would be removed from the Witness Protection Programme if he refused to give evidence. Cullen said he had been contacted a few months earlier to return from his host country to testify against two men accused of the murder. When he…
2017-02-10 · Dublin
In the Special Criminal Court, David Cullen, an accused who became a State witness, denied that he had lied about the alleged roles of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly in the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly. Cullen, who was originally charged with the murder, had turned State witness after the shooting and testified that he had waited at Gormanston…
2017-02-09 · Dublin
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, a former accused who became a prosecution witness in the Peter Butterly murder case was informed two days before he gave a statement to the gardai that his murder charge would be dropped. The case involves two Dublin men, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (47), who pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder…
2017-02-08 · Gormanston, Meath
The Special Criminal Court heard evidence from David Cullen, a former accused who turned State's witness, regarding the alleged murder of Peter Butterly outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, in 2013. Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, both accused of the alleged murder and firearms offences, have pleaded not guilty. A third accused, Dean Evans,…
2017-02-06 · Dublin
In the Special Criminal Court, evidence was presented that the six discharged cartridges found at the scene of Peter Butterly's shooting matched a Beretta semi‑automatic pistol located almost a kilometre away. Butterly, aged 35, was killed outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston on 6 March 2013. Two Dublin men, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly…
2017-02-03 · Dublin
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, the court decided to proceed with the trial of Peter Butterly's alleged murderers, Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, after a third accused, Dean Evans, failed to appear. Both McGrath and Kelly pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, and McGrath also pleaded not guilty to firearms offences. The court heard from…
2017-02-02 · Gormanston, Meath
In a 2017 court hearing, detectives investigating the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly denied that any offer was made to drop a murder charge against an accused who later became a prosecution witness. The case involves Edward McGrath, Sharif Kelly, and a missing third accused, Dean Evans. McGrath and Kelly have pleaded not guilty to murder and…
2017-02-01 · Tallaght, Dublin
In the Peter Butterly murder trial at the Special Criminal Court, the admissibility of evidence from state witness David Cullen was contested. The trial, now in its second session after the original collapsed, heard cross‑examination of former chief superintendent John Gilligan, who oversaw the Witness Protection Program. Gilligan was questioned…
2017-01-31 · Tallaght, Dublin
The Special Criminal Court trial of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, who have pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of Peter Butterly and firearms offences, continues before Mr Justice Tony Hunt. A third accused, Dean Evans, failed to appear and has not been located, prompting the non-jury court to proceed with the two co-accused. The…
2017-01-30
In a dissident republican murder trial, defence counsel for Edward McGrath, Sharif Kelly, and the absent Dean Evans challenged the admissibility of evidence from State witness David Cullen, who had originally been an accused. Cullen, a 35‑year‑old former suspect, agreed to testify for the prosecution in exchange for immunity from the murder…
2017-01-27
In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 27 January 2017, the legality of the detention of two men accused of murdering dissident republican Peter Butterly was contested. The 35‑year‑old victim was shot outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanstown, Co. Meath, on 6 March 2013. Edward McGrath (35) of Springfield, Tallaght, and Sharif Kelly (46) of…
2017-01-26
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, the barristers for Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly argued that the two men, accused of murdering 35‑year‑old Peter Butterly outside The Huntsman Inn in 2013, were unlawfully detained on the side of the road. The men were allegedly held by National Surveillance Unit officers before being formally arrested. Mr…
2017-01-25 · Dublin
In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 25 January 2017, evidence was presented regarding the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old who was shot dead in the carpark of The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston. Two men, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (46), were on trial for his murder and had pleaded not guilty. McGrath also pleaded not guilty to…
2017-01-24 · Dublin
The Special Criminal Court is currently hearing the second trial of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, who have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Peter Butterly and, in McGrath's case, firearms offences on the same occasion. The court is proceeding with the two accused in the absence of co-accused Dean Evans, who failed to appear and remains…
2017-01-23 · Balbriggan, Dublin
In a Special Criminal Court murder trial, a Garda National Surveillance Unit officer recited the Act of Contrition to Peter Butterly, who was found with massive gunshot injuries to his head in a Meath carpark on 6 March 2013. Butterly, a dissident republican, was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanstown. The trial excluded the public while…
2017-01-20
In a Special Criminal Court murder trial, the public was excluded while three Garda National Surveillance Unit members gave anonymous evidence. The case concerns the 2013 shooting of dissident republican Peter Butterly outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanstown, Co. Meath. The accused, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (46), plead not guilty to the…
2017-01-19
The Special Criminal Court heard evidence that Peter Butterly, 35, died of multiple gunshot wounds in a Meath car park on 6 March 2013. The post‑mortem report, read by Caroline Cummings BL, described entry wounds to his neck and trunk and exit wounds to his neck and head, a sternal fracture, cardiac tamponade and traumatic brain injuries. Two…
2017-01-18
In a 2017 hearing, the Special Criminal Court heard the second trial of Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (46) for the murder of Peter Butterly (35) on 6 March 2013 at The Huntsman Inn car park, Gormanstown, Co. Meath. Both pleaded not guilty to the murder and to firearm offences at the same address. The trial proceeded after the third…
2017-01-17 · Gormanston, Meath
The Special Criminal Court has ruled that evidence from eleven Garda National Surveillance Unit members in the retrial of Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly must be given anonymously with the public excluded. McGrath (35) and Kelly (46) have pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly, a 35-year-old father of…
2017-01-16 · Gormanston, Meath
The Special Criminal Court will decide tomorrow whether eleven Garda National Surveillance Unit members can give evidence anonymously and whether the public must be excluded from the re‑trial of Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (46) for the 2013 murder of Peter Butterly. The court has been told that the gun used was monitored by the unit and…
2017-01-13 · Gormanston, Meath
The Special Criminal Court heard that the car used by the gunman in the murder of Peter Butterly was under Garda surveillance. Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, who have pleaded not guilty to the murder of the 35-year-old father of three, are currently on trial. The prosecution alleged that McGrath drove a silver Toyota Corolla into the Huntsman…
2016-07-27 · Sallins, Kildare
In a 2016 hearing, the Special Criminal Court found Brian Kenna, 54, breached bail conditions by speaking at a Wolfe Tone commemoration in Sallins, County Kildare. Kenna, who had been charged with membership of the Irish Republican Army, was required not to associate with anyone charged or convicted before the court. At the event, he was observed…
2015-01-23 · Balbriggan, Dublin
The 55‑day Special Criminal Court trial of Dean Evans (24), Edward McGrath (33) and Sharif Kelly (44) for the murder of 35‑year‑old Peter Butterly collapsed after a failure in evidence disclosure. Judge Deirdre Murphy ruled the court must discharge itself as a jury and order a retrial. The collapse followed the revelation that privileged material…
2015-01-22 · Balbriggan, Dublin
The Special Criminal Court has been asked to direct a finding of not guilty for three men charged with murdering Peter Butterly after privileged information was disclosed in the trial. The men—Dean Evans (24), Edward McGrath (33) and Sharif Kelly (44)—were charged with the murder of the 35‑year‑old father of two, who was shot dead in the car park…
2015-01-21 · Balbriggan, Dublin
The Special Criminal Court will hear legal applications from the defence tomorrow in the trial of three Dubliners charged with murdering Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old father of two, who was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, Co Meath on 6 March 2013. The accused are Dean Evans (24) of Raheny, Edward McGrath (33) of…
2015-01-20 · Gormanston, Meath
The Special Criminal Court is set to rule tomorrow on a defence application to direct a finding of not guilty for three men charged with the murder of Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old father of two, who was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, Co. Meath, on 6 March 2013. The accused are Dean Evans (24) of Raheny, Edward McGrath…
2015-01-19 · Balbriggan, Dublin
The Special Criminal Court has adjourned the trial of three men charged with the murder of Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old father of two, until tomorrow. Butterly was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn in Gormanston, Co. Meath, on 6 March 2013. The accused are Dean Evans (24) of Raheny, Edward McGrath (33) of Tallaght, and Sharif Kelly…
2015-01-16 · Gormanston, Meath
The Special Criminal Court will hear the closing submissions of the three men charged with the murder of Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old father of two, on Monday. The trial began in September and has lasted almost four months. The defendants – Dean Evans (24), Edward McGrath (33) and Sharif Kelly (44) – have pleaded not guilty to the murder and to…
2015-01-15 · Gormanston, Meath
The State has closed its case in the Special Criminal Court trial of three Dubliners charged with the murder of Peter Butterly, a 35‑year‑old father of two, outside a Meath pub. The incident occurred on 6 March 2013 in the car park of the Huntsman Inn, Gormanston. The accused—Dean Evans (24), Edward McGrath (33) and Sharif Kelly (44)—had pleaded…
2015-01-14 · Gormanston, Meath
In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 14 January 2015, Sharif Kelly, 44, denied that the clothing found in his car after the murder of Peter Butterly was a change of clothes for the killer. Kelly said he had been driving from tending his horse when his engine light came on and the car conked on Flemington Road. He claimed to have restarted the…