Noel Shannon given suspended sentence for data disclosure

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

Noel Shannon was given a two-year sentence, suspended in full for two years, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court by Judge Melanie Greally. The proceedings were reported on 17 December 2021.

Shannon pleaded guilty to disclosing personal data, namely Garda intelligence bulletins, without prior authorisation of the data holder. The photographs contained personal information about 108 people and were later circulated on social media.

The judge set a three-year headline sentence but imposed the two-year fully suspended term after considering mitigating material, including Shannon's early plea, regret and low risk of reoffending. Detective Sergeant William Kavanagh agreed with the defence that Shannon neither foresaw nor intended the consequences; counsel said he had been drinking when he sent the photographs to two other electricians and did not expect them to go further.