'Flagrant' contempt of witness who booked holiday to Ayia Napa sees him jailed and fined

A 20-year-old plasterer from Killala, County Cork, has been sentenced to two months imprisonment and fined €1,000 at the Central Criminal Court for contempt of court. Craig O'Donoghue was issued a witness order on 3rd May 2021 requiring his attendance at a trial related to violent disorder. The case arose from investigations into the Cameron Blair matter. Despite the legal obligation, O'Donoghue travelled to Ayia Napa, Cyprus, on 27th May, just days before the trial was scheduled to commence in early June. When gardaí attempted to contact him, including through a superintendent stationed in Cyprus, he declined to return and subsequently powered off his mobile phone. A bench warrant was issued, but O'Donoghue remained in Cyprus until 2nd July, when he returned to Ireland and was arrested upon arrival at Dublin Airport. Justice David Keane found the contempt to be premeditated, deliberate, and flagrant in nature. The judge highlighted the seriousness of prioritising a holiday over a legal duty to provide evidence, stressing that such breaches of witness orders and the disruption they cause to trial proceedings could not be tolerated by the courts. O'Donoghue's culpability was assessed as high. In mitigation, the court acknowledged O'Donoghue's previous good character and expressions of remorse, which influenced the judge to reduce the headline sentence from three months to two months. Justice Keane noted that O'Donoghue contracted Covid-19 upon his return to Ireland, though he observed this was a consequence of O'Donoghue's own actions in travelling while a witness order was in force. O'Donoghue's case formed part of a pattern of witness non-compliance in the same proceedings, with similar contempt charges brought against another individual in related circumstances.