Courts / Meath / Report

Meath man's conviction for 1971 killing declared a miscarriage of justice

Summary

In 2014 the Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that Martin Conmey's 1972 conviction for the manslaughter of Una Lynskey was a miscarriage of justice. Conmey, aged 63, had been jailed for three years in 1970 before being acquitted in 2010. The appeal court found that early witness statements favouring Conmey were withheld from the defence and were radically inconsistent with later statements. The court noted that no credible evidence established Conmey's involvement in a joint enterprise, a key element of the original case. Conmey's counsel argued that the state had never clarified his role in the killing and that no factual or scientific allegations were directed at him. The court therefore overturned the conviction, allowing Conmey to seek compensation for the miscarriage of justice. The ruling was delivered by Justices Hardiman, McGovern and White.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Meath man's conviction for 1971 killing declared a miscarriage of justice. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Acquitted

When:

• October 12th, 1971 Other
• July 1972 Other
• November 2010 Other
• 2014-07-29 Publication

Why: This was because the original statements of the two witnesses "were suppressed by a person unknown, but connected with the prosecution. Prosecution account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report