Michael McDonald loses murder appeal over alcoholism

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

Michael McDonald’s murder appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 28 November 2019. He had killed Breda Cummins in Athy, Co Kildare, in 2010. McDonald argued that alcohol dependence should have allowed the jury to consider diminished responsibility. The court rejected the appeal, finding that the proposed defence differed from the case advanced at trial.

The court said the trial judge’s rulings and directions were correct and that the verdict was not unsafe. It acknowledged that alcoholism and diminished responsibility might require examination in a future case, but said the issue had not been raised at McDonald’s trial and could not be canvassed at appellate level.