Stephen O’Connor keeps suspended firearms sentence after appeal

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

Stephen O’Connor’s fully suspended four-year sentence for unlawful firearms possession was upheld by the Court of Appeal in a judgment delivered on 2 December 2021.

O’Connor had pleaded guilty after two loaded semi-automatic pistols were found inside a Henry Hoover in his van in Dublin. The court rejected the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal, finding the suspension unusual and exceptional while recognising his serious mental health difficulties and lack of previous convictions.