Courts / Kildare / Report

Veronica Guerin murderer's miscarriage of justice bid found to be an "abuse of process"

Date
2016-04-18

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Naas

County
Kildare

Summary

In 2016 the Court of Appeal dismissed Brian Meehan's application to have his 1999 conviction for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin declared a miscarriage of justice, ruling it an abuse of process. Meehan, 47, had sought to quash the conviction on the basis of alleged new evidence from the 2001 Special Criminal Court trial of John Gilligan, who was acquitted of Guerin's murder. The court found no new facts had emerged and that all material Meehan cited had been available since the Gilligan trial. It held that Meehan's attempt to revive arguments years later, without proper disclosure or new evidence, was unacceptable. The appeal was refused and Meehan remains serving a life sentence in Portlaoise prison. The decision was upheld by the panel of judges, including Justice George Birmingham. The family expressed relief at the outcome.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Veronica Guerin murderer's miscarriage of justice bid found to be an "abuse of process". Procedural stage: appeal

When:

June 26, 1996 Incident
July 1999 Hearing Or Sentence
2016-04-18 Publication

Case subjects

Veronica Guerin

Convicted Person

Outcome: Meehan (47), from Crumlin in Dublin, is serving a life sentence in Portlaoise prison for her murder, having being convicted by the non-jury Special Criminal Court in July 1999 following a 31-day-trial.