Sentencing of Luke Murphy adjourned for probation report after prison threats to former partner

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

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court adjourned sentencing of Luke Murphy until July for a probation report. He pleaded guilty to harassing his former partner on 30 September, 1 October and 2 October 2019. The proceedings were reported on 1 May 2025. The court heard that he threatened in prison calls to burn down her home and harm her.

Murphy had previously received a five-year sentence, with two years suspended, for threatening to kill the same woman. The complainant did not make a statement and the prosecution in the harassment case relied on circumstantial evidence. Detective Garda Harry Stephens agreed with the defence that her unwillingness to co-operate was not because of any interaction with Murphy; he said she did not want to go through the process again. Judge Elva Duffy described the threats as an appalling way to speak to any woman.

Prosecuting counsel Aideen Collard said Murphy was originally charged with threats to kill but pleaded to harassment when the matter came up in March, a plea the DPP accepted. Defence counsel Marc Murphy asked the judge to consider a non-custodial sentence.