Two-year jail term for violent burglar over gang attack too lenient, DPP argues

The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on whether to increase the sentence imposed on a man convicted of his role in a violent gang assault. Donal O'Hara (26), from Dublin, pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to assaulting a man and falsely imprisoning another on the same occasion in County Dublin in June 2015. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final two years suspended in July 2018. The Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed the sentence, arguing it was unduly lenient and that the suspension of the final two years was erroneous. CCTV footage showed five men, including O'Hara, dragging the victim from his house and assaulting him. Counsel for O'Hara submitted his client had pleaded guilty promptly and played a lesser role than other participants in the incident, who received longer sentences. The three-judge court indicated it would deliver its judgment at a later date.