Donal Billings appeal dismissed over explosives and false reports

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

Donal Billings had his appeal against convictions for possessing explosives and making false reports dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 28 May 2019.

The convictions arose from one count of unlawful possession of explosive substances and four counts of making false reports tending to show an offence had been committed.

Billings was convicted in the Special Criminal Court on 26 October 2016 and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison on 15 December 2016.

The appeal challenged the evidence and argued that his rights as an Irish speaker had been infringed during the trial.

The Court of Appeal found insufficient grounds to quash the convictions, while this judgment dealt with the conviction aspect of the appeal.