Brandon Gavin challenges murder conviction on appeal

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

Brandon Gavin appealed against his conviction for murdering Marius Mamaliga at a hearing on 24 February 2026. Gavin had pleaded not guilty to murder. The appeal proceedings were reported on 25 February 2026.

A Central Criminal Court jury convicted Gavin in November 2024 over the stabbing at Forest Court, Swords, on 23 February 2023. Ms Justice Eileen Creedon imposed the mandatory life sentence in December 2024.

Mamaliga, 19, was sitting in his car when Gavin got into the rear and stabbed him in the neck. He died in hospital three days later. Gavin told gardaí he had acted in self-defence after Mamaliga came at him, saying he feared for his life because he owed a €2,500 drug debt. The jury rejected that account.

At the appeal, defence counsel Dean Kelly argued that calls and texts between Gavin and another man, and Gavin’s Tinder activity before the killing, should not have been admitted at trial. He rejected the suggestion that using the app indicated a calm state of mind or cold-bloodedness.

Ronan Kennedy, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the messages showed Gavin’s state of mind and countered his claim of self-defence. Kennedy said the three-judge court would reserve judgment.