The Court of Appeal reduced the sentences imposed on Dean Byrne and Patrick Gately for an aggravated burglary at a family home in Burnchurch, Co Tipperary, but left the terms for suspending part of each sentence to be determined after hearing the parties.
In a judgment delivered on 5 May 2017, the court said the case fell within the high range of aggravated burglary. It found that the sentencing judge had been correct to treat Byrne and Gately as the two defendants who merited the most severe sentences, given their records, the timing of their guilty pleas and their involvement in dangerous driving in the stolen family jeep.
The Circuit Court had sentenced both men to 20 years in prison, with the final four years suspended for 10 years subject to conditions. The appeal court concluded that the difference between their net sentences and those imposed on their co-accused was excessive. It reduced each sentence to 18 years, with four years suspended, but did not specify the suspension terms in this judgment. The court said it would hear the parties on those terms.
The court dismissed the appeals by Thomas Flynn, John Joyce and Patrick Joyce, finding no basis to interfere with their sentences. Flynn had received 12 years, with the final three suspended, to begin after the legal expiry of a separate firearms sentence. John Joyce had received 15 years with four suspended; Patrick Joyce had received 14 years with four suspended.
The burglary took place at about 3am on 21 November 2013, while a family of five was at home. The judgment recounts that the raiders threatened the family with weapons, assaulted Mark Corcoran and restrained him with cable ties. His injuries required four surgical procedures. His wife, Emma Corcoran, was dragged by her hair and threatened, and their children witnessed or heard the incident. The raiders took cash and jewellery; an engagement ring valued at €3,500 was not recovered.
The judgment also describes two attempts to evade Gardaí in the stolen jeep, including driving at more than 200km/h through Ballybrittas and weaving through rush-hour traffic on the M7. The appeal court’s decision concerned the severity of the five appellants’ sentences. It upheld three sentences and reduced two, while leaving the suspension terms for Byrne and Gately for further consideration.