Sidney Sutton given last chance to appeal convictions

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

Sidney Sutton was given a last chance to pursue his conviction appeal at the Court of Appeal. The proceedings were reported on 18 January 2021.

Sutton, of Brindley Park Square, Ashbourne, Co Meath, was convicted after a Circuit Court trial in 2017 of four counts of assault, one count of assault causing harm and one count of producing a knife capable of inflicting serious injury. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He accused his then partner, Edele Aherne, of assaulting him and inflicting her own injuries through self-harm.

The offences occurred in the early hours of 6 February 2016, as the couple returned home after a wedding in Slane, Co Meath, the previous day. The court heard that Sutton pushed Ms Aherne in the head in a taxi and shoved her head against a wall after they got out. At home, he punched and kicked her, dragged her to the floor and stamped on her legs, before stabbing her in the leg and shoulder.

Sutton sought an adjournment, saying his solicitor had told him on 15 January that he could not attend. Mr Justice George Birmingham adjourned the appeal to 26 April, warning that it would proceed or be treated as abandoned if Sutton could not advance it. The judge said that if Sutton wished to argue he had received inadequate representation at trial, his trial lawyers must be notified so they could respond. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and Mr Justice Pat McCarthy also sat.

The Court of Appeal had previously found Sutton's original sentence of two years in prison, with the final 12 months suspended, unduly lenient and ordered him to serve a further 16 months.