Daniel Mullan’s appeal succeeds as Court of Appeal cuts sentence to five years

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

The Court of Appeal allowed Daniel Mullan’s appeal against his eight-and-a-half-year sentence for sexual offences and imposed a five-year custodial sentence, backdated as directed by the Circuit Court. The court said the sentencing judge had not adequately accounted for mitigating factors, particularly Mullan’s age and poor health.

Mullan had pleaded guilty to five sexual offence counts at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court. The court imposed concurrent sentences, including eight years and six months for one sexual assault count; that was the sentence challenged on appeal. The Court of Appeal assessed the offending as toward the higher end of the gravity scale, though at the lower end of that category, and found a nine-year headline sentence appropriate before mitigation.