The Court of Appeal has resentenced Rebekah Walsh after finding that two fully suspended terms imposed by the Circuit Court were unduly lenient. It imposed 18 months’ imprisonment on one bill and a consecutive two-year sentence, suspended for two years, on the other.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had sought reviews on grounds of undue leniency. The Director did not challenge the headline or adjusted sentence lengths, but argued that the failure to impose any immediate custody failed to reflect the seriousness of the offences or provide specific or general deterrence.
The first bill concerned events on 12 July 2018. Walsh pleaded guilty on the morning of trial to threatening to kill, possessing an iron bar in a public place, and criminal damage to a window at Kilkenny Garda station. The judgment says she had gone to an apartment in Kilkenny city, threatened an occupant with an iron bar, and was later arrested outside. At the Garda station, she damaged a glass window.
The second bill concerned an assault on 28 August 2020 at the Kilkenny city apartment of a man identified as KR. Walsh had been allowed to stay there the previous night. The court heard that she attacked him with a bottle during an argument, while her then-boyfriend struck him in the face. The injured man suffered a fractured eye socket, broken nose and finger, and multiple cuts and bruises. Walsh contested the trial and was convicted. She was on bail in the first case at the time.
In December 2022, the Circuit Court imposed consecutive two-year sentences on the two bills, suspending both in full for four years. It cited Walsh’s rehabilitation work and the prospect that she was changing direction, while also describing the offending as serious and her conduct as violent.
The Court of Appeal said the approach was unduly lenient and resentenced Walsh. It quashed the Circuit Court sentence on the 2018 bill and substituted 18 months’ imprisonment. On the second bill, it imposed a consecutive two-year term but suspended it for two years. The court said the consecutive structure was required because that offence was committed while Walsh was on bail.
The appeal court noted that Walsh faced other charges said to arise from later incidents, but stressed those charges had not been determined and were not considered in its decision. It said any future application to activate the suspended sentence following convictions would be a matter for another day. The judgment records that the court would hear counsel on possible conditions; it does not state any condition in the final orders reproduced.