Graham Dwyer loses appeal against Elaine O’Hara murder conviction

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

Graham Dwyer’s appeal against his murder conviction was dismissed unanimously by the Supreme Court on 31 July 2024. The court upheld his 2015 conviction for the murder of Elaine O’Hara.

Mr Justice Maurice Collins said there was overwhelming and unanswerable evidence supporting the prosecution case, apart from disputed phone traffic and location evidence. The court concluded the remaining evidence was more than sufficient to establish that Dwyer was responsible for the text messages linked to O’Hara.

The appeal focused on whether phone traffic and location data retained under a law later found inconsistent with EU law was admissible at Dwyer’s trial. The Supreme Court rejected his arguments that the data’s retention was impermissible and that admitting it would undermine the administration of justice.