Courts / Dublin / Report
Lifelong criminal Trevor Byrne to remain serving 17.5-year sentence for armed robbery and hijack
Summary
Trevor Byrne, a 43‑year‑old from Finglas West, will continue to serve a 17.5‑year jail term after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal. Byrne, who has 44 prior convictions, was convicted in 2021 by the Special Criminal Court on five charges stemming from an armed robbery of Boylesports in Swords on 19 March 2010. The charges were robbery, possession of a firearm, false imprisonment, threat to kill and unlawful seizure of a vehicle. He was found guilty after a mobile phone dropped at the scene was identified as his and after a Garda recognised him in CCTV footage. Byrne's counsel argued the identification evidence was unsafe due to lack of contemporaneous notes, but the court upheld the evidence as admissible and the appeal was rejected. The 17.5‑year sentence, which runs concurrently with other convictions, remains in force. Trevor Byrne pleaded not guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Lifelong criminal Trevor Byrne to remain serving 17.5-year sentence for armed robbery and hijack. Charges or matters: the robbery, possession of a firearm, false imprisonment, threatening to kill and to unlawfully seizing a vehicle used in the getaway. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted
When:
- March 19th, 2010 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 2009 Incident
- July 2021 Incident
- November 2019 Incident
- 2024-07-23 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: the robbery, possession of a firearm, false imprisonment, threatening to kill and to unlawfully seizing a vehicle used in the getaway (Proven)
Plea: Not guilty
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; The court had heard that Byrne was released from a separate sentence in November 2009, just four months before carrying out the Swords raid. At the Special Criminal Court in July 2021, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath sentenced Byrne to eight-and-a-half years for both the armed robbery and the false imprisonment, six-and-a-half years for the threat to kill and seven-and-half years each for the possession of the firearm and for hijacking the car.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Special Criminal Court
- Cappagh Road
- Dublin
Topics
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