Courts / Dublin / Report

Murder accused barrister gets bail as court overturns earlier rejection

Date
2022-04-08

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Tallaght

County
Dublin

Summary

Diarmuid Rossa Phelan, a senior counsel and law lecturer, was granted bail by the Court of Appeal after the High Court had rejected his application on the basis of flight risk. The appeal court set strict conditions: Phelan must post a €50,000 bond and secure an independent surety of €50,000, surrender his U.S. passport, obey a curfew, provide a mobile number, and submit a comprehensive financial statement. He must also stay away from Tallaght, his Wexford properties, and any witnesses, and cannot leave the 26 counties or acquire firearms. The court noted that Phelan had never offended and was a person of good standing. The bail decision was made pending his trial for the murder of Keith Conlon, a 36‑year‑old father of four, who was shot on farmland in Tallaght on 22 February. The case remains at the bail stage, with the trial date yet to be fixed.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Murder accused barrister gets bail as court overturns earlier rejection. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

February 22 Incident
April 13 Other
2022-04-08 Publication

Case subjects

Diarmuid Rossa Phelan

Appellant

Outcome: Last month, Ms Justice Murphy said that the applicant had a "powerful incentive to evade justice" based on the seriousness of the charge, the strength of the evidence, the likely sentence in the event of a conviction and alleged ongoing threats to the accused.