Irish language rights independent of fair trial rights, lawyers for Queen's visit bomber say

A man from Drumlish, County Longford, has challenged his conviction at the Court of Appeal, arguing that his constitutional right to conduct proceedings in Irish was compromised during his trial. Dónal Billings, aged sixty-seven, was convicted by the Special Criminal Court in 2016 of possessing an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park in May 2011, and of making false bomb threats during Queen Elizabeth's State visit to Ireland. He received a sentence of eight-and-a-half years imprisonment. His legal representatives submitted that Irish language rights are independent of fair trial protections, contending that the absence of an Irish transcript and the non-translation of relevant legislation into Irish undermined his constitutional entitlements. The Director of Public Prosecutions argued the trial was fair and that the State had facilitated his use of Irish during proceedings. The Court of Appeal, sitting with President Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice Marie Baker, and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, reserved judgement on the appeal.