Judgment reserved in Noel Long’s appeal against murder conviction

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

Noel Long, who was jailed for life for murdering Nora Sheehan, has had judgment reserved in his appeal against the conviction. Mr Justice John Edwards presided over the three-judge Court of Appeal. The proceedings were reported on 19 February 2026.

Long pleaded not guilty to murdering Sheehan between 6 and 12 June 1981 at an unknown location in the State. A jury unanimously convicted him in August 2023. Sheehan, who was 54, was found dead in Shippool Woods, Co Cork, six days after she went missing in June 1981.

The trial heard that a partial DNA profile from semen found in Sheehan’s body matched DNA recovered from clothing taken from Long in 2021. His appeal argued that the DNA evidence should not have gone before the jury and that delay in bringing the case had prejudiced him.

Long’s barristers argued that the prosecution had not proved an intention to murder and had shown no more than an assault involving blows to Sheehan’s head and face. They also disputed the trial judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott’s directions on serious injury and his presentation of the defence case. Counsel Lorcan Staines SC said Sheehan might have suffered a heart attack or blocked airways and argued that an unexpected death during an assault could itself explain why her body was hidden.

State counsel Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC said the case was circumstantial and there was no established cause of death. He described the heart attack possibility as speculation, saying a doctor had found no evidence of it. He maintained that the trial judge had summarised the evidence and made the defence position clear.