Cahir O'Higgins found guilty of theft and perverting justice

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

Cahir O'Higgins was found guilty of theft and perverting the course of justice on 15 November 2024.

He had pleaded guilty earlier in 2024 to assault causing harm and harassment of solicitor Stephen O'Mahony; two simple-assault counts were taken into consideration. Judge Kenneth Connolly sentenced him at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 22 July 2024 to 32 months, suspending the final 16 months.

The suspension included a condition that O'Higgins have no contact with O'Mahony or O'Mahony's wife and family. Connolly also granted him leave to travel, while the sentence was deferred until the end of September so he could settle his affairs and close his practice.

The prosecution evidence included accounts of threatening messages, intimidating encounters and an assault that broke O'Mahony's nose. O'Mahony strongly denied O'Higgins's accusations that he had poached clients or behaved unethically. Defence counsel cited depression, stress, burnout, bereavement, marital breakdown and the collapse of O'Higgins's practice.