In a court hearing on 14 December 2015, it was revealed that a woman was deceived into purchasing a stolen Toyota Vitz for €4,300 after seeing it advertised on Done Deal. Garda Martina Drew explained that the seller, Stewart Crosbie, 45, was identified through a smartphone photo taken by the woman's suspicious friend. Crosbie later admitted he had passed the money to a third party owing him a drug debt. He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing the same stolen vehicle in January 2015 and was serving a partially suspended three‑year sentence for a similar offence in November 2014. Judge Martin Nolan imposed an eight‑month sentence to run consecutively to the time Crosbie was already serving, as he was on bail when he committed the offence. The woman discovered the deception upon returning home when the vehicle's registration did not match the documents, prompting her to contact the Gardaí.
Aaron Carey, 28, was sentenced to two years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to assaulting district court solicitor Aine Ni Riain, causing her harm. The attacks occurred on January 24, 2015, at Benburb Street and Wolfe Tone Quay. Prosecution evidence indicated that Carey punched Ms Ni Riain in the face after taking her phone, and struck her again when she pursued him to the quays, bursting her top lip. Garda Brian Graydon testified that Carey was later identified on CCTV and arrested days later. The court noted that Carey had previously been fined €200 in the district court for handling the stolen phone, which was subsequently returned to the victim. Carey, a father of two with 45 previous convictions, was residing at Judge Darley's Hostel at the time of the offence. Defence counsel Luigi Rea BL submitted that Carey regretted his actions and had completed educational courses and a charity run while in prison, attributing the crime to his drug addiction. Judge Martin Nolan acknowledged Carey's ambition to be a good father but imposed the two-year custodial sentence. The matter was finalised with this sentence.
The Court of Criminal Appeal adjourned the hearing of Perry Wharrie, a 56‑year‑old Englishman from Loughton, Essex, whose appeal against a 30‑year prison sentence for his role in the €440 million drug seizure at Dunlough Bay in 2007 was set to be heard. The appeal was delayed because the prison escort from Portlaoise Prison failed to arrive at the court on time. Wharrie had pleaded not guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply, was found guilty by a Cork Circuit Criminal Court jury, and was sentenced to 30 years by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on 23 July 2008. The Court of Criminal Appeal, comprising Justices McMenamin, Moriarty and Hunt, noted the escort's failure as "not very satisfactory" and adjourned the case to 11 January 2016. The court also remarked that Wharrie had previously been late at a hearing and that prison authorities had been specifically requested to prevent a repeat.
Paul Grace, 36, of Beaumont Park, Artane, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting retired youth worker Patrick Malone on 29 March 2013 at Killarney Street, Dublin 1. Grace had previously struggled with drug addiction, had been homeless, and had completed a certificate in drug counselling while studying psychotherapy. He had 22 prior convictions for non‑violent offences such as theft and criminal damage. Malone, a professional who had helped people rehabilitate from drug addiction, had once given Grace money for hostels and had arranged for him to detox in Malone's apartment. During a stay Grace attempted to buy drugs, was told the detox would not work, left, returned in an incoherent state, and later pushed a knife at Malone, who sustained injuries to his arm and hand and required surgery. Malone's victim impact statement requested that no custodial sentence be imposed. The case was adjourned for sentencing on 19 February next year.
Adrian Doyle, 35, of Lakelands, Naas, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis herb at a rented property in Church View Lawns, Prosperous, Co Kildare, in May 2014. Garda Eoghan O'Neill stopped Doyle's car at a checkpoint on St Johns Road, Dublin, where a cannabis smell was detected. Cannabis herb worth €4,428 was seized from the vehicle, and a subsequent search of the Prosperous address uncovered 24 early‑stage cannabis plants valued at €19,200, almost 2½ kg of dried herb worth €48,886, books on cultivation, bank slips, Doyle's phone, and €26,000 in cash in a laundry basket. Judge Martin Nolan noted the cash may include redundancy payment residue and profit from cannabis sales, and imposed a three‑year jail sentence. Doyle had no prior convictions, was described as remorseful, and had worked in financial services before losing his job during the downturn.
Paul Brannigan, 24, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter of Jason Saunders, who died after a rare cardiac arrest called commotio cordis. A six‑day trial and almost five hours of deliberation ended with a hung jury on the manslaughter charge. The jury found Brannigan guilty of two counts of assault by head‑butting and striking with a golf club, and of producing an article capable of serious injury. Brannigan denied all offences. Judge Patrick McCartan remanded him in custody for sentencing on 15 December. Chief State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy testified that Saunders died from a blow to the chest within a 30‑millisecond window, while defence pathologist Dr Declan Gilsenan disputed this, suggesting drug use and a testosterone spike caused the arrest. Brannigan admitted head‑butting and swinging a golf club but denied striking the victim. He later expressed remorse to the family. The case concluded with Brannigan taken to prison.
Rebecca Cunningham, 34, was given an 18‑month suspended sentence after she tried to abduct a three‑year‑old girl from a South Dublin crèche, believing the child to be her own daughter. Cunningham was in a drug‑induced psychosis and was searching for her child when she entered the crèche's back garden. The child, who was confused but not distressed, walked out with Cunningham until the manager noticed and intervened. The manager calmly asked Cunningham to return the child, but Cunningham refused to let go of the girl's hand, though she was not violent. The child was ultimately returned to staff. Cunningham pleaded guilty to abduction on 22 September 2015. The court noted her mental illness, lack of prior convictions, and her cooperation with bail conditions. Judge Martin Nolan suspended the sentence on strict conditions, including staying away from crèches, schools and other child‑congregating areas, and engaging with the Probation Service.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court manslaughter trial, retired pathologist Dr Declan Gilsenan opposed Chief State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy's conclusion that Jason Saunders died from commotio cordis, a rare cardiac arrest caused by a chest blow. Gilsenan argued Saunders' death resulted from a combination of an argument with Paul Brannigan and a cocktail of illegal drugs, noting that cocaine can disturb heart rhythm regardless of dose. He cited the absence of commotio cordis deaths in Ireland and estimated a 1‑in‑50‑000 incidence for cocaine‑related deaths in Cork and Kerry, versus 1‑in‑50‑million for commotio cordis in the US. Brannigan, 24, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, assault, and possession of a golf club, admitting a verbal row and head‑butting but denying striking Saunders with the club. The trial continues before Judge Patrick McCartan and a twelve‑person jury.
Gary Byrne, 42, of Belcamp Gardens, Coolock, was sentenced in 2015 to 12 years' imprisonment for possessing €2.5 million worth of cannabis for sale or supply at two lock‑ups in Rosemount Business Park, Ballycoolin and North West Business Centre, Blanchardstown. The final three years of that sentence were suspended, leaving an operative term of nine years. Byrne appealed on the basis that mitigating factors had not been considered. The Court of Appeal re‑sentenced him to 12 years with the final four‑and‑a‑half years suspended, reducing the net jail term to seven‑and‑a‑half years. He was required to post a €100 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour while in custody and for three years after release. The appeal was granted on the grounds that Byrne's homelessness, depression, suicidal ideation and drug addiction were not adequately weighed in the original sentencing. Gary Byrne pleaded guilty.
Keith Hall, aged 26, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for the manslaughter of 16‑year‑old Melanie McCarthy McNamara, who was shot in a car in Tallaght on 8 February 2012. Hall pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, and the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the plea. He was convicted by Mr Justice Paul Carney on 31 July 2013. Hall has now applied to appeal the sentence, arguing that the judge gave insufficient weight to mitigating factors such as his admissions, remorse, young age and guilty plea. His barrister, Caroline Biggs SC, contended that the judge's remarks did not clarify any discount applied and that Hall's intoxication with crack cocaine and benzodiazepines on the day of the offence should have been considered. The DPP's counsel, Brendan Grehan SC, noted that the judge had indicated the sentence was on the higher end of the manslaughter scale, between a life sentence and the maximum 20‑year term.
Aisha Ahmed, 49, also known as Gloria Anwulika Aro, was arrested in Tallaght, Dublin, under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Italy. The warrant accuses her of acting as promoter, leader and organiser of an association that imported, sold, distributed and traded large quantities of cocaine in Italy between September 1999 and June 2000. She was sentenced in absentia to 20 years' imprisonment. At her bail hearing, Ahmed denied being known as Aisha Ahmed or by the alias Linda, and denied using a 1965 birth date, although she had supplied an Irish passport with a December 1967 birth date. Her counsel, John Noonan BL, argued that she had not been notified of a scheduled trial and that the Italian authorities had released her without further proceedings. The Irish judge, Aileen Donnelly, will decide whether to surrender her to Italy. The case remains pending.
42‑year‑old Declan Doyle of Crumlin, Dublin, has filed a High Court application to stop a robbery charge alleged to have been committed in 1999. Doyle, who says he was addicted to drugs at the time and that his life was "quite disordered," claims the prosecution is unreasonable and disproportionate after 16 years. He argues that the delay has infringed his constitutional rights and that he has led a law‑abiding life for the past 16 years. Doyle, who has been drug‑free since 2000 after a rehabilitation programme in Athlone, has already turned himself in to Gardaí and was granted bail. The court, presided over by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys, adjourned the application for two weeks. Doyle seeks an order preventing the Director of Public Prosecutions from prosecuting him for the alleged robbery. The case remains at the application stage.
Patrick Constant, aged 32, received a seven‑year prison sentence with four years suspended for possessing 122.6 grammes of heroin worth €18,390 in Dublin's Bus Aras on 17 February 2015. He will begin serving the sentence after completing a three‑year term for a prior drugs offence. Constant, of Riverview Estate Tower, Blarney, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Garda Joanne Myles described how she approached him in the Bus Aras lobby after hearing a question about a package, and how he resisted her attempt to handcuff him. She later found a heroin package in a sock between his trouser legs. Constant claimed he was receiving €500 to offset a €3,000 drug debt if he collected a package in Dublin and returned it to Cork. He said he had been promised a job upon release.
David Radford, aged 19, was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment for the sexual assault of a 15‑year‑old girl in a Dublin suburb on 12 November 2014. He was arrested after CCTV footage showed him following the girl from her Luas stop and approaching her to ask for directions. Radford denied the allegation in interviews but was re‑arrested in January 2015 when DNA from a semen stain on the victim's clothing matched his. He had 15 prior convictions, including three for sexual assault of women, dating back to 2010 when he was 14. At the trial he pleaded guilty. The judge, Martin Nolan, noted Radford's claim of no memory due to drug use but found this did not lessen his culpability. He was given a suspended 12‑month period of the sentence, subject to strict conditions. The case was prosecuted by Anne Rowland BL and defended by Kieran Kelly BL.
A 21-year-old man from Longford has been sentenced to one year in custody at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following a dangerous driving incident in Blanchardstown, Dublin on August 2nd, 2013. Dylan Meade of An Cussan, Lisbrack Road pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious harm, failing to remain at the scene, driving without a valid licence and driving without insurance. The court heard that Meade struck a cyclist at approximately 57 kilometres per hour, causing severe brain trauma and four months of amnesia. Judge Catherine Murphy imposed a three and a half year sentence with two and a half years suspended, subject to strict conditions including probation supervision, abstinence from alcohol and drugs, and attendance at mental health appointments. The judge noted that non-compliance would result in activation of the suspended portion. The cyclist, who suffered significant neurological injury, submitted a victim impact statement describing the profound effect on his family and future prospects.
Patrick Ryan, 37, a Dublin crystal‑meth addict, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for 16 robberies committed between January 2014 and January 2015. He admitted to stealing cash ranging from €136 to €1,400 from shops, petrol stations and businesses, as well as phones and cash from individuals. Ryan's crimes involved knives, syringes and an imitation firearm, and victims' ages ranged from young to 79‑year‑old. He had 129 prior convictions, including 12 robberies, 18 aggravated burglaries and two false imprisonment offences. Judge Martin Nolan, noting Ryan's guilty pleas and "sad" background, imposed a 10‑year sentence with consecutive elements and suspended the final two years. Ryan claimed he had been drug‑free for two years before the offences and that his drug habit had driven the robberies. The court accepted his admissions and the evidence presented by Gardaí and the prosecution.
Ross Gleeson, aged 29, was jailed for 18 months after a bag of heroin worth €5,250 was found in the foot-well of a Garda patrol car he was in on the way to Sundrive Garda Station for questioning. The car was part of Operation Creeper, a drugs operation in Crumlin. Gleeson was arrested when Gardaí saw him enter the car, which had been under surveillance. He pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs for sale or supply on 24 October 2014. He had 31 previous convictions, mainly for traffic offences, and had earlier pleaded guilty to possession of €1,500 worth of heroin on 26 November 2014. In court, he admitted he intended to sell the drugs and had bagged them in his mother's kitchen. The judge noted his admissions, good work history, but significant conviction record.
In a sentencing hearing on 23 November 2015, Peter Jackson, aged 41, was given a mandatory life sentence for the murder of David Hamilton, aged 31, on 4 May 2012. Jackson, a former heroin addict, admitted remorse, saying "I'm sorry, I didn't set out to do this." The court heard that the killing occurred during a heroin injection session at a house on Kerryhall Road, where an argument over the drug escalated into a stabbing. Jackson had 73 prior convictions, mainly for traffic, public order, theft and burglary, and a previous three‑year sentence for heroin supply. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not to murder, a plea rejected by the prosecution. The sentence was back‑dated to the day of the murder, 4 May 2012. The hearing included a victim impact statement from Hamilton's uncle, Robert Denby, describing the family's profound grief. The judge, Justice Isobel Kennedy, confirmed the life sentence and the back‑dating. Peter Jackson was found guilty.
A 33‑year‑old Chinese man, Nianjie He, was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment after pleading guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawfully cultivating cannabis at his apartment on Wolfe Tone Street. The cultivation, valued at €100,800, involved 126 plants at various growth stages, humidifiers, fans and weighing scales, but no flowering buds. Gardaí were alerted by the apartment block manager, discovered the plants, and seized the premises with a warrant. He was found injured two floors below the window he had jumped from. He had previously been jailed for three years in Galway for a similar offence. He admitted to watering and feeding the plants daily, claiming he harvested them for up to €11,000 per crop and that most proceeds were used to pay a large gambling debt. He denied purchasing the plants but said he supplied them to third parties who paid him.
Patrick Murphy, 27, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a stolen Apple iPod and to handling a stolen BMW 5 Series parked at an apartment on Main Street, Clongriffin, on 18 August 2014. The car and iPod had been taken in a burglary of a house at The Links, Donabate, four days earlier. Murphy, who was staying in the apartment at the time, told gardaí he was paid a few hundred euros to let others park the car for the night, claiming he did not know who would pay him and that he had done it because he owed a drug debt from his cocaine use. He denied any involvement in the burglary and said he did not have the car keys. Judge Martin Nolan suspended a one‑year prison sentence. Murphy has 25 previous convictions, including drug dealing, firearms offences, criminal damage and car theft.
Alan Stone, 33, was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment after a series of thefts and a bizarre act of defecation in a Garda interview room. During questioning on 28 April 2015, Stone repeatedly insisted he needed to use the toilet, was offered escort to his cell, but instead he pulled down his trousers, squatted in the corner of the interview room and defecated, wiping himself with a seal from the interview video tapes. The incident prompted the Garda to clear the room for health and safety reasons and the interview was terminated. Stone also pleaded guilty to stealing two boxes of Fairy Liquid tablets from Centra, Dame Street, and was found to have 165 prior convictions, mainly for theft. The judge noted the unusual nature of the act and suggested that abstaining from drugs could improve his prospects of reform. The case highlighted the extent of Stone's heroin addiction and the impact of his criminal behaviour on the Garda station.
Trevor Curtis (35), of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two offences. On April 14, 2014, he was found in a laneway off Bedford Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin, in possession of a syringe which he brandished at gardai. Evidence indicated that Curtis had injected himself with a head shop drug and was experiencing hallucinations, believing he was under attack by demons. Garda Paul Gray pepper-sprayed Curtis after he refused to drop the syringe. Curtis also pleaded guilty to robbing a betting shop on Wicklow Street, Dublin, on October 27, 2014, during which he pointed a syringe at a pregnant employee and took €355 in cash. Judge Martin Nolan released Curtis into the custody of the Probation Services, conditional on his residence at a drug treatment centre and compliance with all directions. Curtis has 43 previous convictions, including three similar offences and previous sentences for robbery, including a suspended sentence at Longford Circuit Court.
Anne-Marie Byrne, 30, of Clontarf, Dublin, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to multiple offences. Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a two-year sentence for the burglary of Joseph Rowe's home in Sutton on January 24, 2011, and an 18-month sentence for two separate robberies at Xtravision video stores in Ongar Village and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre on April 6 and 7, 2013. The judge ordered that these sentences be served consecutively, resulting in a total effective custody period of three and a half years. Prosecution evidence alleged that Byrne entered Mr. Rowe's home with an accomplice posing as a garda, while in the video store incidents, she wore a balaclava and guarded the doors while others stole goods. Byrne admitted to the charges, stating she was paid €200 for the shop robberies, which she spent on drugs. The court noted her 12 previous convictions and her status as a single mother on a methadone programme. No suspended portions or specific post-release conditions were detailed in the sentencing order. The matter was concluded with the imposition of these consecutive custodial terms.
In a Central Criminal Court trial, Peter Jackson, 41, was found guilty of murder after stabbing David Hamilton, 31, during a heroin dispute on Kerryhall Road, Fairhill, Co Cork, on 4 May 2012. Jackson had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. The jury, consisting of ten men and two women, deliberated for nine hours and fifty‑four minutes, reaching a verdict by a majority of 11 to one after four days of evidence. The case involved an argument over heroin use, with both men injecting and attempting to share a second bag of heroin. A friend, Ms Pamela McHale, 26, testified that a fight ensued, leading Jackson to stab Hamilton with a knife. Jackson later admitted his role. The verdict was read at 4.15 p.m., and the sentencing is scheduled for 23 November, when victim impact statements will be heard. The court thanked the jurors and exempted them from further service for 15 years.
Anthony Atkinson, a 49‑year‑old UK national from Queensbury, Bradford, pleaded guilty to possessing €155,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply at Dublin Port on 31 October 2014. He was originally sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, with the final three years suspended. On appeal, the Court of Appeal re‑sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment, suspending the final four‑and‑a‑half years. The court noted that the drugs were concealed in a door panel of a vehicle stopped by customs officers, and that Atkinson admitted transporting them to settle a drug debt. He had 42 prior convictions, mainly for small drug offences, and had struggled with drug addiction since 1992. The judge cited his early plea, admissions to Gardaí, treatment efforts, and his status as a foreign national as mitigating factors. The final suspended term was four‑and‑a‑half years, leaving a 10‑year custodial term.
In a Dublin cash‑box robbery, 38‑year‑old Glen Morgan, a chronic drug addict with 63 prior convictions, was jailed for three years. Morgan and accomplices followed a cash delivery van into a shopping centre car park, waited for the security guard to return with the takings, and then Morgan used an axe to seize the box containing €5,341.55. He fled in a car and later admitted to stealing the previous day. Morgan pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbing the cash box and to unlawful possession of a vehicle at the same location on 17 July 2014. The security firm's tracking led to the box's recovery at scrub‑land near St Doolagh's Park nursing home, where the stolen vehicle was also found. The judge, after hearing the defence's plea of a spiralling life, imposed a three‑year sentence and granted credit for time already spent in custody.
The jury in the trial of Peter Jackson, 41, accused of murdering David Hamilton, 31, during a heroin dispute, was informed that a majority verdict could be returned. Jackson, a drug addict, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. After more than six hours of deliberation, Justice Isobel Kennedy told the ten‑man, two‑woman jury that a verdict would be accepted if ten or eleven members agreed. The jury had been deliberating for almost eight hours and was scheduled to resume at 2 p.m.
The jury in the trial of Peter Jackson, a 41‑year‑old heroin addict, will resume deliberations on the third day at the Central Criminal Court. Jackson pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter for the fatal stabbing of David Hamilton, 31, on 4 May 2012 at a house on Kerryhall Road. The ten‑man jury has spent six hours debating the case and has been instructed not to discuss it with anyone outside the jury.
Christopher Lee, a 33‑year‑old former chef, pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery of Chapman's Superstore in Clondalkin on 12 March 2015. Lee entered the shop armed with a kitchen knife, waving it at shopkeeper James Chapman. Chapman responded by striking Lee with a piece of wood, resulting in the loss of the tip of his finger. Lee had previously been drug‑free and was studying to help others with addiction. He had 36 prior convictions, including two for robbery, and had been in state care from age nine. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to 20 months' imprisonment, noting his rehabilitation efforts. Lee admitted he had chosen the shop because it was near a Garda station, hoping to be arrested, and said he did not intend to harm anyone. The court recorded his remorse and his desire to stay drug‑free.
The jury in the trial of Peter Jackson, a 41‑year‑old heroin addict from Kerryhall Road, Fairhill, Co. Cork, will resume deliberations tomorrow after Justice Isobel Kennedy finished her charge. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter for the fatal stabbing of David Hamilton, 31, on 4 May 2012 at a house on Kerryhall Road. Kennedy explained that the jury can return a verdict of guilty of murder or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. She reminded the ten men and two women that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution and that a murder conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Jackson intended to kill or cause serious injury and that he was not provoked. The jury spent one hour and 24 minutes considering their verdict today and was asked to return tomorrow morning. The judge also instructed them not to discuss the case with anyone outside the jury.
In the murder trial of Peter Jackson, a 41‑year‑old drug addict, the jury was instructed to consider his mental state on the day of the incident. Jackson pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter for the death of 31‑year‑old David Hamilton, who was stabbed on 4 May 2012 at a house on Kerryhall Road. Defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC explained that by pleading guilty to manslaughter, Jackson accepted responsibility for Hamilton's death but denied intent to kill. Justice Isobel Kennedy told the jury that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jackson intended to kill or cause serious harm, and that provocation could negate murder if the accused lost control. The prosecution argued that Jackson had tried to inject heroin, an argument escalated, and Jackson then stabbed Hamilton. Witness Pamela McHale confirmed the fight and that Jackson had taken a knife from the table.
Garda Brian Canavan, stationed at Pearse Street Garda Station, was suspended from duty on 23 May 2014 after he had told a Garda Inspector he intended to file a grievance against two superior officers. The suspension followed allegations that he failed to prosecute cases in 2012 and 2013 and that he had not properly recorded items, illegal drugs or a drink‑driving matter. Canavan, represented by Mark Harty SC, has brought High Court proceedings to halt an internal investigation into alleged breaches of Garda discipline and to challenge the suspension. He claims he has not been given clear reasons for the suspension, which has been renewed every few months, and that the investigation was delayed and poorly managed. Canavan seeks orders preventing further disciplinary action, declarations that the investigation is inordinate and inexcusable, and that the allegations lack a proper basis. The case was granted ex‑parte permission and is set for a return date in January.
David Gill, a 40‑year‑old GAA coach from Leopardstown, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing €560,000 worth of cannabis for sale or supply at three Dublin locations on 22 August 2013. He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment by Judge Martin Nolan on 29 July 2014. Gill's appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on 9 November 2015. Justice Alan Mahon, sitting with Justices Garrett Sheehan and John Edwards, held that the seven‑year sentence was not excessive. During a Garda surveillance operation Gill was stopped in a white van on Kylemore Road where 8.5 kg of cannabis herb worth €171,000 was found; a follow‑up search of a lock‑up yielded 19.5 kg of cannabis resin worth €389,000, and €30,000 in cash was discovered hidden in a pool table at his home.
In a Central Criminal Court hearing on 9 November 2015, Peter Jackson, 41, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter for stabbing David Hamilton, 31, on 4 May 2012 at a house on Kerryhall Road, Fairhill, Co Cork. Jackson, a heroin addict, claimed the act was accidental, stating he wanted Hamilton's family to know he was sorry. Prosecutor Thomas O'Connell SC described how Jackson had tried to inject Hamilton after injecting himself, leading to an argument over a vein and resulting in Jackson stabbing Hamilton in the chest with a knife. Garda Donal O'Casey testified that Jackson had been interviewed three times at Gurranabraher Garda Station and had told the officers, "It was a complete accident. I'm sorry." Jackson also admitted knowing Hamilton for about 14 years and that he had never intended harm. The trial proceeded with a jury and Justice Isobel Kennedy scheduled to continue the next day.
In November 2015, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the case of Robert Smith, a 37‑year‑old father of seven from Crumlin, who had lost his home during the recession and turned to cocaine. Smith had pleaded guilty to possession of heroin on three occasions – at his home in September 2014, at Sarsfield Road in March 2015 and at Kevin Street Garda station in April 2015. He had been caught with €1,950 worth of heroin in March 2015 and later with €3,000 and €2,700 worth of heroin in March and April 2016, while on bail. Judge Desmond Hogan noted Smith's history as a good father and provider, his financial collapse after work dried up around 2008, and the threats he faced from drug dealers. He imposed consecutive sentences totalling five years, which were suspended in full, and highlighted that Smith was now drug‑free and working to rebuild his life with his wife's support.
John McDonagh, 36, a married father of three from St. Louises Park, Temple Hill, Blackrock, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to threatening to kill or seriously harm Garda Donacha Ryan during a search at his halting site on 4 December 2014. He had eleven prior convictions. Judge Desmond Hogan, after hearing evidence in July 2015, adjourned sentencing to allow a probation report. On 6 November 2015, Hogan imposed a four‑year sentence, suspended on conditions including 240 hours of unpaid community work and completion of drug or alcohol treatment programmes as directed by the Probation Service. The court noted that McDonagh had threatened Garda Ryan with petrol and a knife, and had also made threats to other Gardaí. The judge described the area as "an almost no‑go area for Gardaí.".
In a Central Criminal Court hearing, Peter Jackson (41) pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter for the death of David Hamilton (31) on 4 May 2012. Jackson and his girlfriend, Pamela McHale (26), had bought two bags of heroin and met Hamilton at a house on Kerryhall Road, Fairhill. After Jackson injected himself and McHale, he struggled to find a vein for Hamilton, sparking an argument. Jackson then seized a knife from the table and stabbed Hamilton in the chest. McHale later called an ambulance under a false name and did not disclose the incident to police until the next day. Hamilton died three days later. The trial continues before a jury and Justice Isobel Kennedy.
A 24-year-old man from Castlebar, County Mayo, who is serving a life sentence for the 2011 murder of his mother, has been sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for assaulting a prison officer at Mountjoy Prison. The man pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to throwing boiling water at the officer on 15 April 2014. The officer sustained burns to his face and shoulder and was absent from work for five weeks. The court heard the defendant has sustained irreversible organic brain damage from drug abuse during his teenage years and was transferred from the Central Mental Hospital to Mountjoy following his murder conviction. At the time of the assault, his medication had recently been altered and he had just been moved from a padded cell. Judge Martin Nolan noted the defendant had no impulse control and observed there was no rational explanation for the attack. The court heard the defendant has since remained free of further convictions and is receiving psychiatric care in custody.
A 32-year-old man originally from Swinford, County Mayo pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Dublin GAA footballer Jonny Cooper in the early hours of September 20, 2014. Mark Lavelle, with an address at Basin Street, Dublin, inflicted nine stab wounds to the player's forehead, eyelid and neck area during an unprovoked attack on Dorset Street Upper. The court heard Lavelle was under the influence of crystal methamphetamine at the time and had also assaulted a taxi driver and hijacked his vehicle hours earlier in Palmerstown. Mr Cooper spent one night in hospital and subsequently suffered anxiety and facial scarring. Lavelle was arrested at a petrol station in Maynooth when gardaí spotted the stolen taxi. Blood analysis linked Mr Cooper's DNA to a knife and jacket recovered from Lavelle. The defendant has sixty-two prior convictions including assaults, drug possession and robbery. Judge Martin Nolan remanded Lavelle in custody pending sentencing.
During the murder trial of Anthony Locke, 38, the partner of the deceased, Barbara Staunton, testified that Locke claimed he had cut off Christopher Jackson's penis and placed it in the victim's pocket. Staunton, who admitted using heroin that night, said Locke asked her what she was doing with someone with a "little penis." She also recounted hearing Locke and Bernard Locke discuss the murder, with one remarking, "Remember the Scissor Sisters? We can be the Scissor Brothers." Staunton described the scene where Jackson fell back into the flat with a knife in his chest after answering the door to the accused and Bernard. She also noted that Bernard had ordered her to clean up a severely cut hand while Locke was in the kitchen. The testimony was given before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of twelve. The trial continues. Anthony Locke pleaded not guilty.
Terrence Mulhall, 39, a crack cocaine addict, was remanded in custody pending sentencing in January after robbing five pharmacies near his home in Finglas, Dublin. He was already on bail for one robbery when he carried out the other four, stealing €2,135 from the tills by threatening staff with scissors, a screwdriver or a blade. Mulhall pleaded guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery of Hickey's Pharmacy on December 19, 2014, Llyods Pharmacy, and Hickey's Pharmacy on Main Street on March 11 and April 1, 2015. Two additional robbery charges were considered. He was first arrested after the first robbery when fingerprints from a perfume bottle and CCTV footage linked him to the crime; his home was searched and the clothes he wore during the robbery were found in his bedroom. Mulhall made full admissions and was released on bail, then committed the next four robberies within three weeks.
Eric Wynne, 29, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading not guilty to possessing cocaine for sale or supply. A jury returned a majority verdict finding him convicted. Judge Desmond Hogan imposed a ten-year sentence, with the final four years suspended, describing Wynne as a "valuable cog in this unpalatable industry." The judge recommended Wynne receive psychiatric help in custody and alerted the Prison Service to his vulnerability. Wynne, who indicated an intention to appeal, was found to have an intellectual disability. Co-accused Arthur Conroy, 30, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug for sale or supply. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with the final three years and three months suspended. The court heard that 1,976 grammes of cocaine, valued at €138,300, were found at a garage in Glasnevin, Dublin 11, where a "cocaine factory" was allegedly operated. Gardaí seized mixing agents, scales, and a hydraulic press. Wynne admitted possessing 15 grammes found in his pocket but denied involvement with the larger quantity. Defence counsel highlighted Wynne's history of abuse and borderline personality disorder, while his mother stated he was her sole carer.
Claire Lawlor, 26, of Abbeylea Drive, Swords, pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery committed on 1 May 2012 in Swords. She had 55 prior convictions, including robbery, theft, burglary, assault, road‑traffic offences and making off without paying. Lawlor, a former heroin addict who had become drug‑free and pregnant with her second child, was said by her defence counsel to have been motivated by her pregnancy to seek rehabilitation. The robbery involved a taxi driver outside a Garda station; Lawlor and a male accomplice stole the driver's keys and phone, and the driver was held at gunpoint. Lawlor's wallet, containing her social welfare card, was found in the taxi. The judge, citing her rehabilitation and the seriousness of her previous convictions, imposed a suspended sentence of two and a half years, suspended in full, and noted that the sentence was given with great hesitancy after recognising her request for a last chance.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal against conviction by Patrick Scanlon, a 55-year-old restaurateur from West Limerick with an address on the Channel Island of Jersey. Scanlon had pleaded not guilty at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to the possession and importation of cannabis worth €79,000 from Spain to a house in Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, on August 8, 2013. He was found guilty by a jury following a three-week trial and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by Mr Justice Caroll Moran on May 21, 2014. The centrepiece of his appeal, submitted by barrister Michael O'Higgins SC, was that his arrest was allegedly tainted by a period of illegal detention immediately before his arrest. O'Higgins argued that Scanlon was searched twice for drugs—once at the roadside and then at a garda station—and that no new reasonable cause had been formed for the second search. However, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, speaking for the three-judge court which included Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, stated that it was not unusual for a person to be detained on the roadside and brought to a station for a further search. The court described the action as a continuous single search, noting that it did not matter that the process was described as a first or second search or carried out by two different gardaí. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed. Scanlon will appeal his sentence at a later date.
Karl Gurr, 28, of Gardiner Street, Dublin, was jailed for three and a half years after pleading guilty to robbery at Royal Canal Park on 10 January 2015. He had 64 prior convictions, including theft, criminal damage, possession of drugs, trespass and assault. The victim, a man walking in the park, tried to distract Gurr from mugging a woman by shouting at him. Gurr chased the victim, knocked him to the ground, and engaged in a violent struggle. He attempted to smash the victim's head off a brick flower bed, a lamppost and the ground, and continued to punch him while the victim defended himself by poking at Gurr's eyes and face. The victim was treated for cuts to his head and reported a profoundly negative effect on his well‑being. Judge Martin Nolan described the victim's conduct as courageous and chivalrous, and noted Gurr's serious record of convictions before sentencing.
Richard Daly, 55, was arrested at Huntsman's House in Clondalkin after a customs officer detected cannabis during a random spot check. Gardaí found an "Aladdin's cave" of drugs worth €522,952, including cannabis herb, resin, heroin, amphetamines and cocaine, as well as 93 rounds of ammunition, 129 stolen NCT certificates, 98 stolen FBD insurance certificates, a stolen Garda uniform with accessories, and camera equipment belonging to a filming company. Daly pleaded guilty to five counts: possession of drugs for sale or supply, unlawful possession of ammunition, possession of a stolen Garda uniform, and possession of other stolen goods. Judge Desmond Hogan imposed concurrent sentences totalling ten years, suspending the final five years. The five‑year term for the new offences will run consecutively to Daly's current four‑year term, which was reactivated after being fully suspended at the outset. Daly has 20 prior convictions and was described by his defence as having cooperated with authorities.
Damien Wilson, 47, a father of one with chronic health problems, was arrested after a Garda raid on his Clondalkin home following a surveillance operation. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Chaplin's Place on 10 October 2014. The cocaine, valued at €58,086, was found in a backpack under the stairs, together with other drug paraphernalia and a list of clients. Wilson admitted receiving the drugs by courier the previous week, weighing and bagging them before leaving them outside his front door for collection, and said he was paid €100 per week. He refused to name other participants, citing fear for his safety and that of his partner and child. Judge Martin Nolan, citing Wilson's myriad medical conditions—chronic heart failure, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and back pain—sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended in full.
In October 2015, Hai Ping Li, a shopkeeper, held armed robber Daniel Garland (34) in his Spar shop on North Circular Road, Dublin, until Gardaí arrived. Li wrestled Garland to the ground, struck him with a wooden table leg, and later "jumped" him outside. Garland had previously robbed another Spar shop in Drumcondra, taking €460 after threatening staff with a knife. He pleaded guilty to both robberies at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 18 and 22 October 2014. Garland, who had six prior convictions for theft, drug offences and criminal damage, cooperated with Garda investigations and admitted the robberies were "out of stupidity" to obtain money for drugs. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to 21 months' imprisonment, noting his cooperation and efforts to address addiction. The case highlighted the shopkeeper's decisive action and the court's consideration of Garland's rehabilitation efforts.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing on 27 October 2015, Niall Sheil, aged 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery at Dympna's Clairvoyant on 6 January 2015. The court noted that Sheil had turned his life around, was free of drugs, had cooperated with Gardaí, and had entered an early guilty plea. Judge Melanie Greally imposed a four‑year suspended sentence, citing the terrorisation of staff and customers and the discomfort caused. The robbery involved two staff members and two customers; Sheil entered with a steel bar, and the robbers took cash, purses and phones, escaping after a chase that led to their arrest. All items were recovered except €400 taken from reception. The four women victims declined to give victim impact statements. Sheil had 18 prior convictions, mainly for theft, road traffic and drug offences, but none for robbery or violence.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, Anne Maire Buckley, aged 35, pleaded guilty to possessing 241 g of cocaine and 219 g of cannabis, seized during a warrant‑issued search of her former home. She admitted holding the drugs for about two months to offset a €1,500 "hash" debt, claiming weekly payments of €100 would reduce the debt. With no prior convictions, Buckley's health and intellectual difficulties were cited by her defence. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended sentence, ordering 18 months of supervision.