The Court of Appeal has upheld Ciaran Waldron’s conviction for threatening to kill Anthony McColgan during an incident at Ludden, Buncrana.
Waldron was unanimously convicted by a jury at Letterkenny Circuit Court on 23 June 2010 and fined €1,000. The charge arose from events on 7 August 2006. The indictment alleged that Waldron threatened to kill McColgan and intended McColgan to believe the threat would be carried out.
The background involved Waldron’s estranged wife, Christina O’Kane, who was then associated with McColgan. During her evidence, O’Kane volunteered that she had been in what she described as a very abusive marriage to Waldron. The defence sought action over the remark.
The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge was entitled not to discharge the jury. The remark had not been prompted by the prosecution, and the court considered its likely impact limited given that the jury already knew there had been a long and acrimonious marital breakdown.
A second issue concerned the trial judge’s explanation of the offence. The correct legal question was whether Waldron intended McColgan to believe the threat would be carried out, not whether Waldron actually intended to carry it out himself.
When the jury returned with a question, the judge at one point incorrectly told them to consider whether Waldron intended to carry out the threat. However, he then reread the statutory wording and correctly directed them to consider whether Waldron intended McColgan to believe what he had threatened would happen.
The Court of Appeal also noted that defence counsel expressly said he was happy with that direction and resisted the prosecution’s request for further clarification.
The conviction appeal was therefore dismissed. A separate DPP application seeking review of Waldron’s €1,000 fine as unduly lenient was not determined in this judgment.