Brady hearing set for July after Byrne convicted of witness conspiracy

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

Aaron Brady’s hearing was set for 15 July 2024 after the Special Criminal Court convicted Dean Byrne of conspiring with him to dissuade a witness from giving evidence at Brady’s murder trial.

The three-judge, non-jury court delivered its verdict against Byrne on 14 June 2024. Presiding judge Mr Justice Paul Burns adjourned Byrne’s sentencing hearing to 15 July and said Brady would have a hearing on the same date.

Brady pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to perverting the course of justice by recording the playing of a video of witness Ronan Flynn being interviewed by gardaí. The offence occurred on an unknown date between 20 February and 7 May 2020. The proceedings were reported on 11 April 2024.

A second charge against Brady, of conspiring to persuade prosecution witness Daniel Cahill not to give evidence between 8 April and 22 June 2020, was taken into account. His sentencing was initially adjourned to 29 May 2024.

The court found that Byrne and Brady agreed to prevail on others to dissuade Cahill from giving evidence, and that Brady passed parts of Cahill’s statement to Byrne. Byrne’s defence argued that the men had limited opportunities to communicate and that Byrne genuinely believed Cahill would give false evidence. The judge found that Byrne had no legitimate involvement in the trial and said the argument about his belief was irrelevant.

Brady was convicted in August 2020 of murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe during a credit union robbery at Lordship, Co Louth, on 25 January 2013. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 40 years.