Rory Kilkenny given 12 years with final four suspended on sentence review

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

Rory Kilkenny was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with the final four years suspended, by the Court of Appeal on 22 February 2016. Mr. Justice Birmingham delivered the judgment, which quashed the original sentence as unduly lenient and allowed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal.

At Kilkenny Circuit Court on 2 July 2015, Kilkenny had received ten years’ imprisonment, with the final six years suspended subject to conditions, for an offence under section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. He also received a concurrent four-year prison sentence for another section 15A offence.

He had pleaded guilty. The proceedings were reported on 22 February 2016.

The appeal court found that his role in the commercial cannabis cultivation and production operation was very large and central. He had leased the premises and helped source machinery. The court concluded that a starting sentence exceeding ten years was required.

Gardaí searched two industrial units at Piltown, Co Kilkenny, on 2 May 2012, finding 2,504 cannabis plants and 43.54kg of cannabis herb. The €2,874,174 valuation given to the court represented the expected value at maturity, rather than the actual value on the search date.

Three people tending the plants received seven-year prison sentences, with the final six years suspended on condition that each leave the State immediately. They had spent more than a year in custody before being sentenced.