Court of Appeal cuts brothers’ sentences to nine and a half years

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal quashed the original sentences imposed on Colin Murphy and Glen Murphy and resentenced them after finding that consecutive sentences for each offence were not an appropriate way to reach a proportionate total. It upheld a 14-year headline sentence for Colin Murphy’s arson offence, then reduced it to nine and a half years, with the final 18 months suspended for 18 months. His five-year sentence for assault causing harm is to run concurrently with the arson sentence.

For Glen Murphy, the court imposed two years for each of two criminal damage counts, two and a half years for one assault causing harm count, five years for a second assault causing harm count, and one year for unlawful use of a vehicle. It suspended the final 18 months of the sentence on the second assault count for 18 months. The judgment states that consecutive terms were imposed, while the newspaper report gives his total as nine and a half years, with the final 18 months suspended for 18 months.

The brothers’ offending took place on Christmas Day 2022. A man assaulted during the events was found unconscious with serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury; the court record says he later experienced lasting physical, psychological and financial effects. The appeal judgment was delivered on 24 July 2025.