Gardaí had “agenda” to obtain confession from murder convict “no matter what”, appeal court told

Bryan Ryan, aged 31 and originally from Blanchardstown with a connection to Louisburgh, County Mayo, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Ian Tobin in May 2007. Following an initial conviction in 2008 that was later quashed, Ryan was reconvicted by majority verdict at the Central Criminal Court in 2013 after pleading not guilty to the charge. At a hearing before the Court of Appeal in December 2015, Ryan's legal representatives mounted a substantial challenge to the safety of the conviction. Defence counsel contended that investigating gardaí had pursued a predetermined objective to secure a confession through improper methods. The submission included allegations that officers misrepresented legal principles relating to manslaughter and overstated the strength of available evidence. Central to the appeal was the assertion that a confession obtained during garda interviews lacked reliability. Specifically, Ryan had admitted to burning motorcycle parts and items of clothing, claims contradicted by forensic evidence gathered during the investigation. The defence further argued that any alleged breaches of constitutional protections during police questioning could not be adequately remedied through a brief consultation with a solicitor. The Director of Public Prosecutions' office maintained that the case rested substantially on evidence provided by a protected witness and that the confession had been obtained in accordance with lawful procedures. The three-judge panel reserved judgment pending consideration of the submissions. The appeal ultimately proved unsuccessful. In May 2016, the Court of Appeal dismissed Ryan's challenge, with Mr Justice George Birmingham and two colleagues concluding that the trial judge had been appropriately positioned to assess the matters raised. The court found that video evidence of the interviews had been properly reviewed and that the trial judge's findings that Ryan was not oppressed and that admissions were voluntary had been correct. The conviction was affirmed as safe.