Farmer’s appeal argument reported after cannabis sentence

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

The Court of Appeal heard legal argument from a farmer who said his solicitor had failed to recognise the importance of garda evidence that he claimed should not have been given to the jury at his trial. The proceedings were reported on 22 January 2026.

Martin Murray was sentenced at Tullamore Circuit Court in December 2023 after a jury found him guilty of importing drugs and having them for sale or supply. He pleaded not guilty. Judge Keenan Johnson imposed a 10-year sentence, with the final two years suspended upon entry of a €500 peace bond for five years after release. The sentence was backdated to 4 May 2023, when Murray first went into custody.

Gardaí stopped Murray while he was driving a truck in Co Offaly on 30 June 2017. Cannabis worth €730,000 was discovered after the truck was taken to Dublin Port and holes were drilled in sealed steel tubes. His solicitor, Michael Gillespie, said Murray’s defence concerned knowledge of the drugs and that there was no evidence he was present when the substance was put into the tubes. Gillespie said an appeal would be brought.