Courts / Dublin / Report

High risk offender jailed for killing man who was cleared of 2002 manslaughter

Date
2023-06-19

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Noel Lennon, 49, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court for the manslaughter of Isaac Horgan, 52, who died after being stabbed in the leg at his home in Dublin 2 on March 29, 2021. Originally charged with murder, Lennon pleaded not guilty to that charge but guilty to manslaughter, a plea accepted by the State. Mr Justice Tony Hunt imposed a headline sentence of nine years, reduced by 18 months to seven and a half years. The final year of the sentence was suspended for a post-release period of four years, with the judge warning that any breach would result in immediate custody. The sentence was backdated to March 30 last year. The court noted Lennon's high risk of re-offending and his 12 previous convictions. Aggravating factors included the impact on Horgan's nine-year-old son and the fact the victim was killed in his own home. A co-accused, Lisa Lee, was previously convicted by a jury of discarding the knife used in the attack. Lee, of no fixed abode, was jailed for two years last December. The report also notes that Horgan had previously been acquitted of the 2002 manslaughter of Douglas McManus, having pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges in that earlier case.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: High risk offender jailed for killing man who was cleared of 2002 manslaughter. Charges or matters: murder but guilty to manslaughter and the State accepted this plea; the murder of Mr McManus (36), at Fatima Mansions in Dublin's south inner city on June 17, 2002. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

March 29, 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
March 30 Other
July 2005 Hearing Or Sentence
June 17, 2002 Hearing Or Sentence
2023-06-19 Publication

Why: "He'd better behave himself, because if I have anything to do with him and he comes back here, he will go to jail for that last year," said Mr Justice Hunt, backdating the sentence to the date Lennon went into custody, March 30 last. CNI source report

Case subjects

Lisa Lee

Convicted Person

Charges: the murder of Mr McManus (36), at Fatima Mansions in Dublin's south inner city on June 17, 2002 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Outcome: Lee, of no fixed abode and formerly with an address at Depaul Homeless Hostel, Little Britain Street, Dublin 7, was jailed for two years by Mr Justice Hunt having been convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last December.

Noel Lennon

Accused

Charges: murder but guilty to manslaughter and the State accepted this plea; the murder of Mr McManus (36), at Fatima Mansions in Dublin's south inner city on June 17, 2002 (Alleged Or Contested)

Outcome: Mr Justice Hunt reduced the nine-year sentence by 18 months, bringing it to seven and a half years, then suspended the last year for a post-release period of four years. "He'd better behave himself, because if I have anything to do with him and he comes back here, he will go to jail for that last year," said Mr Justice Hunt, backdating the sentence to the date Lennon went into custody, March 30 last.