Appeal court upholds surrender orders for McNicholl and O’Kane

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed John McNicholl and Séamus O’Kane’s appeals against orders for their surrender to Northern Ireland to stand trial on offences allegedly committed in 1975 and 1976. The court said delay by the issuing state did not amount to abuse of process or oppressive litigation in the circumstances of these cases.

The appeals concerned arrest warrants issued in April 2024. The High Court had ordered the men’s surrender, and the appeals raised questions about the long delay in seeking it, including that they had lived openly in Ireland. The Court of Appeal answered the certified questions in the negative and said orders should be made to secure surrender in accordance with the High Court’s orders.

The charges remain allegations: the court’s decision concerns surrender for trial, not a determination of guilt.