Herbert Kilcline jailed for role in Dublin property fraud

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

Former solicitor Herbert Kilcline was jailed for two and a half years for his role in a scheme involving two Dublin properties. The sentencing proceedings were reported on 16 July 2025.

Kilcline was convicted of two counts each of using a false instrument, failing to keep records, fraudulently procuring an entry in the Property Registration Authority’s registry and failing to apply the required measures as a designated person. The offences took place between 2016 and 2018 and concerned properties on Phibsborough Road and St Mary’s Road.

The scheme involved false deeds being inserted into the titles of both properties, resulting in people who were not entitled to ownership being registered as owners. Kilcline signed the registration applications in both cases and certified that he had checked the title. The court heard he had the documents for a short time, including the Phibsborough Road material for one hour; he said he was not paid for his role.

At an earlier hearing, Kilcline’s counsel, John McGowan SC, said a handwriting report prepared for co-accused Philip Marley raised the possibility that the deed of conveyance might have been valid. Counsel said Kilcline accepted that he had fallen short of his professional obligations but did not accept full responsibility and wished to appeal.

Marley pleaded guilty during the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial to procuring a fraudulent entry in the registry, deception and procuring the registration of a false deed. Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain sentenced him to three years in prison, deferred formal imposition to allow him to arrange care for his adult son, and subsequently refused a request to suspend part of the sentence. Marley was taken into custody.