Brian Shaughnessy rape appeal returned to Court of Appeal

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

The Supreme Court returned Brian Shaughnessy’s rape appeal to the Court of Appeal in a judgment delivered by Mr Justice Peter Charleton on 23 March 2021.

A jury convicted Shaughnessy in March 2013 of raping a 17-year-old part-time employee in a suite in the hotel he owned, following a staff party on 25 and 26 July 2010. Sheehan J sentenced him to six years in prison, with 12 months suspended on condition that he follow a rehabilitation programme.

Shaughnessy claimed that inadequate representation led to his conviction. He said his lawyers had inadequately put to the complainant during cross-examination timing evidence about a possibly missing hour that might have cast doubt on her account. His former lawyers gave affidavit evidence contradicting his claim of incompetence; neither side’s witnesses were cross-examined on the conflicting assertions.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction on 9 April 2020. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal on 20 November 2020, including on the appropriate test for a claim of incompetent representation and the trial judge’s ruling on corroboration.

The Supreme Court said a potential issue depended on the credibility of evidence and the resolution of the factual dispute. Depending on that resolution, the Court of Appeal might need to consider whether any failure of representation denied Shaughnessy a trial in due course of law. The Supreme Court returned the matter after setting out the applicable test.