Patrick Harte, a former school principal aged 79, appealed the 2020 conviction for 11 counts of indecent assault on seven pupils at Sancta Maria Christian Brothers primary school between 1968 and 1970. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, rejecting his claim that the trial was prejudiced because he had not sought a parish priest's blessing before entering a teacher training course. The court found no evidence of collusion among the complainants and upheld the joint trial as the strongest case. It also found no prejudice from the delay or from the lack of a religious reference, noting that a jury in 2020 would not have been influenced by such a factor. The appeal was rejected with no reasons to consider the trial unsafe or unfair. The conviction and 3‑year sentence remain in force.
Phelim Coady, aged 24, avoided prison for a second time after a Court of Appeal decision. He had been convicted of dangerous driving causing death, driving a dangerously deficient vehicle, and driving while intoxicated with alcohol and cannabis, and without insurance. The original sentence of two years and six months' imprisonment was fully suspended, and he received a four‑year driving ban. The Court of Appeal quashed that sentence, ruling it too lenient, but imposed a new non‑custodial term of four and a half years, with a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended portion and a two‑year custodial term suspended for three years. The driving ban remained unchanged. The judge noted Coady's remorse, mental fragility, and the mitigating influence of his friend's family's plea not to jail him. The case involved the fatal crash on 30 June 2019, when Stephen Gleeson, 21, was thrown from a Toyota Starlet and died. The other three occupants survived uninjured. Phelim Coady pleaded guilty.
Two men convicted of rape have appealed their convictions at the Court of Appeal, arguing the trial judge erred in questioning a witness about the complainant's level of intoxication. Boakye Osei, formerly of Burnfoot, County Donegal, and Kelvin Opoku, formerly of Letterkenny, County Donegal, were found guilty by jury at the Central Criminal Court and sentenced to nine years imprisonment in March 2020. Their counsel submitted that the judge's direct question regarding the complainant's alcohol consumption was inappropriate in a case where capacity to consent was central to the prosecution case, and that the jury should have been discharged. Defence teams also raised concerns regarding incomplete disclosure of mobile phone material prior to trial and the complainant's use of video-link evidence rather than attending court in person. The Director of Public Prosecutions countered that the judge's question was minor and within judicial discretion, and that the disclosure matter was straightforward. Judgment has been reserved. Boakye Osei pleaded not guilty. Kelvin Opoku pleaded not guilty.
In February, Christopher Jones, aged 28, was jailed for aggravated burglary and impersonating a Garda after pleading guilty to several house break‑ins in Cork during the first Covid lockdown. Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin sentenced him to five years with 12 months suspended on each count, terms running concurrently. The DPP appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice John Edwards, agreed and found the original five‑year term for the burglary at an elderly woman's home "substantially out of the norm". Edwards quashed the five‑year term and imposed a seven‑year headline sentence, later reduced to six years with the last 12 months suspended. The judge noted the burglar had a baseball bat and that the break‑ins were planned, not opportunistic. Jones's defence argued he lived in a slum and was addressing drug addiction while in custody.
Jose Lacerna Pena, 33, is appealing his conviction for the alleged oral rape of a woman at Wicklow Street, Dublin 2, on September 26, 2017. Pena, originally from Bolivia and of no fixed abode, pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court. A jury found him guilty, and in April 2020, Mr Justice Paul McDermott sentenced him to six years' imprisonment. At the Court of Appeal, defence counsel Anne-Marie Lawlor SC argued the conviction was unsafe because the trial judge failed to instruct the jury on the issue of drunken consent, claiming an "irredeemable unfairness" was visited upon the accused. Prosecution counsel Bernard Condon SC countered that the case explicitly involved drunkenness and that the complainant repeatedly stated she did not consent. The matter was adjourned with judgment reserved. During the original sentencing, Mr Justice McDermott noted Pena acted brazenly in a public manner, exploiting the victim's vulnerable position, while acknowledging his lack of previous convictions and the difficulty of serving his sentence away from his family. The victim impact statement described the lasting trauma she suffered. The appeal remains pending.
In 2019, a Central Criminal Court jury convicted 31‑year‑old farmer Eamon Roche of raping his ex‑partner in his car on a country road after a Garda chase. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by Mr Justice Paul McDermott. Roche appealed, arguing the trial judge failed to instruct the jury on the possibility of recklessness and the significance of the defendant's 'driving episode' and subsequent text messages. He claimed the judge should have considered the defence's claim that his apology for "being a bollocks" was about speeding away from a checkpoint, not an admission of guilt. The Director of Public Prosecutions countered that the judge had charged the jury correctly and had gone further than necessary. The appeal judgment is reserved. The case involved a relationship that had ended less than a year earlier, with the complainant alleging Roche forced sex after she feared for her life during the chase.
A 26‑year‑old man, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 16‑year‑old girl he met in a bar, lost an appeal against a six‑year prison sentence. The victim, whose identity is protected, described how the attacker pushed her onto a bed, inserted his hands into her trousers and tried to remove her clothing, and a medical examination later revealed damage to her vaginal area. The man pleaded not guilty to the offence under Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1990, but was found guilty and sentenced in December 2019. In his appeal he argued that the sentence should have included a rehabilitation element and that too much weight had been given to his prior convictions, which were not all sexual and some occurred after the offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions noted the accused had shown no remorse.
A man's appeal against a three-year-three-month prison sentence for assaulting two businessmen near Ballyconnell, County Cavan, has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. James Bernard McGovern, aged 24, had pleaded guilty in March to a Section 3 assault against Kevin Lunney, whom he repeatedly punched at an Apple Green Service Station in February 2019. He also admitted a Section 2 assault against Dara O'Reilly after throwing boiling water at him in the station's dining area. Mr Justice George Birmingham, President of the Court of Appeal, rejected McGovern's claim that the sentence was excessive, describing the attack as displaying "ferocity and savagery". The judge noted that McGovern, an accomplished boxer, had inflicted a broken nose and eye damage on Mr Lunney, and remarked that in other jurisdictions such injuries caused by a trained fighter's fists would be considered caused by lethal weapons. Mr Justice Birmingham found the offending constituted an act of revenge following the appellant's father's loss of employment at Quinn Industrial Holdings, and was a very serious matter warranting the custodial term imposed.
In a 2021 appeal, Sean Lane, aged 28, contested his nine‑year conviction for a "brutal and savage" assault with a baseball bat that left victim Eamon Sheehy with life‑changing injuries. The original trial, held in January 2018, found Lane guilty of assault causing serious harm and of producing the bat during a dispute, the latter carrying a concurrent three‑year sentence. Lane denied the charges, claiming self‑defence after Sheehy allegedly attacked him with a golf club, but the court ruled the attack went "way beyond" self‑defence. A second defendant, Jason Broderick, 21, received a three‑year sentence with one year suspended for possessing the bat. The appeal argues that prejudicial material from Broderick's statements at trial should have led to a severance of the cases, a request the defence failed to make at the outset. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice George Birmingham, has reserved judgment on the appeal.
A man from Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, has had his prison sentence increased following an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Shane Smith (32) pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an elderly woman at her home in April 2018 after forcibly entering the property early in the morning and restraining her on her bed. He also admitted falsely imprisoning the same victim. At Cavan Circuit Criminal Court in November 2020, he received four years and six months for sexual assault and one year and ten months for false imprisonment, both to run concurrently. Smith had additionally pleaded guilty to assaulting a man with a shovel and knife in November 2018. The DPP appealed on grounds of undue leniency. The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge erred in principle by imposing concurrent rather than consecutive sentences. The court increased the overall sentence to seven years, with the final twelve months suspended, determining the original sexual assault sentence was too lenient.
The Court of Appeal held that child sexual exploitation is a stand‑alone offence, contrary to a 2016 ruling by a Central Criminal Court judge who said it was only part of a trafficking offence. The appellate court found that the relevant sections of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 and the Criminal Law Act 2008 create an independent offence of sexual exploitation, requiring proof of the child's personal liberty being taken for sexual exploitation, punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. The decision clarified that the offence does not require the child to have been trafficked. The ruling does not alter the acquittals of two farmers who had been found not guilty of exploiting a 16‑year‑old farm labourer. The Court of Appeal's judgment was delivered by Mr Justice George Birmingham.
The Court of Appeal has quashed the convictions of a 39-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, who were the first in Irish history to be found guilty of female genital mutilation (FGM). The appellants, originally from a French-speaking African region, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in November 2019 to one count of FGM and one count of child cruelty alleged to have occurred on their one-year-old daughter in September 2016. Following a unanimous guilty verdict, Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced the man to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment and the woman to four years and nine months in January 2020. On appeal, the three-judge panel, led by Mr Justice John Edwards, ruled the trial was unfair due to serious inaccuracies in the translation of the defendants' testimony. The court found that mistranslations, such as interpreting "would you hurt her?" as "do you hate her?", rendered the proceedings unsafe. Consequently, the convictions were quashed. The Director of Public Prosecutions has requested a retrial, a motion not opposed by the appellants' counsel. The matter is therefore adjourned for the purpose of arranging this new trial, rather than being concluded.
Chad Redmond, aged 28, was sentenced by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three and a half years' imprisonment, with the final nine months suspended, for assault and criminal damage committed on 24 February 2019 at an apartment in Finglas. The offence involved threatening to kill the mother of his child and burn down her apartment while their three‑year‑old daughter witnessed the assault. Redmond pleaded guilty. His appeal to reduce the sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which found the judge had applied an appropriate discount to the headline term of 4.5 years and had correctly identified aggravating factors, including that Redmond was on bail when the offence occurred. The court held the sentence fell within the margin of appreciation. The case details the assault, the threat of killing, the attempt to take the child, and the subsequent arrest the following day.
A man from Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, is the subject of a Director of Public Prosecutions appeal against sentence at the Court of Appeal. Shane Smith, aged 32, had pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an elderly woman during a break-in at her home on 6 April 2018, and to falsely imprisoning her. He also admitted assaulting a man with a shovel and knife on 23 November 2018. At Cavan Circuit Criminal Court in November 2020, Smith received concurrent sentences totalling four years and six months for the sexual assault, one year and ten months for false imprisonment, and three years for the assault. The DPP argues the sentences were unduly lenient, contending they should have been consecutive and substantially longer, citing aggravating factors including the victim's age and the premeditated nature of the attacks. Smith's counsel contends the sentencing was appropriate and highlights his guilty plea and mental health history. Judgment has been reserved.
Patrick Quirke, aged 52, lost his appeal against a 2019 conviction for the murder of DJ Bobby "Mr Moonlight" Ryan, aged 52, whose decomposed body was found in a disused slurry tank on a farm leased by Quirke. The Court of Appeal rejected more than 50 grounds of appeal presented by Quirke's lawyers. Judge George Birmingham, delivering the judgment, said he was not persuaded by any of the arguments and expressed unease about the trial's extensive legal argument. He noted the trial was the longest in Irish history, lasting 71 days, and described the number of voir dire as extraordinary. Quirke was not present at the hearing but watched via video link. The court upheld the jury's guilty verdict and the life sentence imposed in 2019. The appeal court also dismissed the defence's claim that the trial judge should have declared the trial unfair. The judgment reaffirmed that the evidence, though circumstantial, was sufficient for conviction.
The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of a 71‑year‑old man who had been convicted of nine counts of anally raping his son and one count of child cruelty. The original 15‑year sentence, with the last 12 months suspended, was upheld as appropriate. The judge noted the severity of the offences, the victim's young age and the extraordinary harm caused. The appeal argued for a 12‑year term, but the court found no error in principle and affirmed the 15‑year headline term. The case involved a 33‑day trial in which the 12‑year‑old victim gave evidence via videolink, with extensive cross‑examination. The court highlighted the impact of the abuse on the child's mental health and the necessity of the imposed sentence. No changes were made to the conviction or sentence.
Michael O'Regan, 43, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a 14‑year‑old girl with Down's syndrome, asking her to send pictures of her breasts. He was sentenced to seven months in prison at Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court, a term described by Judge Eoin Garavan as "utterly exploitative" and "reprehensible". The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient and lacked deterrence, citing O'Regan's 35 prior convictions for similar offences between 2016 and 2017. The Court of Appeal, hearing the appeal on 15 November 2021, rejected the request to increase the term. O'Regan's seven‑month sentence was to run consecutively with earlier sentences, a point noted by the court as a deterrent. The case highlights the court's decision to uphold the original seven‑month term despite the DPP's appeal.
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, Padraig Dwyer SC represented Niall Finnegan, a 39‑year‑old family man from Cherry Grove, Cullyhanna, who pleaded guilty in July to possessing €103,000 after an ATM theft on 20 August 2019. Dwyer highlighted Finnegan's lack of prior convictions, his community involvement, and the supportive references from family and local groups. He argued the offence was out of character and that Finnegan had cooperated with Gardaí, expressing a desire to stay out of trouble. Dwyer urged the court to consider a non‑custodial sentence, noting that custodial terms should be a last resort. Judge Hunt cautioned that a light sentence could be viewed as unduly lenient and potentially overturned on appeal, and he postponed sentencing to 29 November. The case remains at the sentencing stage.
In November 2021 the Court of Appeal heard an appeal by Rita O'Driscoll, aged 49, who had been convicted of murdering her former husband, Timothy 'Timmy' Foley, in October 2018. O'Driscoll's appeal argues that the trial judge erred by allowing the prosecution's chief witness, Jason Foley, to give evidence via video‑link and an intermediary. Jason Foley, who suffered an acquired brain injury in 2010, was introduced to the jury as a GP rather than an expert. O'Driscoll's counsel contended that the jury was misled into seeing Foley as a vulnerable witness, while the State's counsel maintained that Foley's intellectual disability was known to the jury and that the remote testimony did not distort the witness's appearance. The court reserved judgment on the matter. The appeal does not address the conviction itself, which remains a mandatory life sentence.
Dylan Fogarty, 27, pleaded guilty to assaulting his former partner in April 2019, criminal damage to her home in June 2019, and harassment between April and November 2019. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting an unknown man in October 2017. In November 2020, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to three years' imprisonment for both assaults, describing the second attack as "an act of savagery" and noting the victim required surgery. In November 2021, the Court of Appeal quashed the original sentence and imposed a headline term of four years and six months, suspending the last 18 months on the condition of a bond to keep the peace and remain drug‑free. The decision was based on the DPP's view that the original term was too lenient and on evidence of aggravating factors such as threats, violence while intoxicated, and a controlling relationship with the victim.
A serial fraudster from Carrickmacross is the subject of an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the leniency of his sentence. Michael McGauley pleaded guilty in October 2020 at Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court to five counts of deception and theft committed between February 2016 and October 2018, obtaining approximately €149,600 from his victims. He was sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment on each count, with sentences ordered to run concurrently and the final nine months suspended on condition of probation supervision and abstinence from gambling and alcohol. The DPP contends the sentence was unduly lenient, arguing that consecutive rather than concurrent sentences should have been imposed. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of Appeal, Ms Justice Una Ní Raifeartaigh noted the deliberate emotional manipulation involved in the offences, questioning the connection between McGauley's gambling addiction and his deceptive conduct toward victims. The case was adjourned pending the court's determination on the appeal.
Robert Traynor, 54, of southwest Dublin, was convicted of possessing 1,938 child pornography images and 183 videos and of producing 1,650 computer‑generated images. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 2 February 2018. Judge Pauline Codd sentenced him to two‑and‑a‑half years, suspended in full, after noting his counselling and low re‑offending risk. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the judge was too lenient and omitted a custodial period, citing the large number of images, the use of a Tor browser to conceal tracks, and foreplanning. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment. Traynor's case involved a Garda operation linking his home to a peer‑to‑peer network of child pornography; he claimed the material depicted adults posing as children, a claim rejected by the court. The appeal focuses on whether the suspended sentence was appropriate given the aggravating factors.
The High Court quashed two suspended prison sentences that had been imposed on a 17‑year‑old boy who admitted stealing electrical goods worth about €400 from a supermarket in the West of Ireland. The sentences, each four months of imprisonment, were to run consecutively and were suspended for two years. The Director of Public Prosecutions, represented by Niall Nolan BL, argued that the sentences were unlawful because the boy is a minor under the 2001 Children Act, and that a minor may be sentenced to detention but not to imprisonment, and that a 2017 Court of Appeal decision bars suspended sentences for minors. Mr Justice Anthony Barr agreed to quash both sentences and remitted the case back to the District Court for new sentencing. The boy, who will turn 18 next year, was the respondent in the proceedings. The unnamed 17-year-old pleaded guilty.
Two brothers whose guilty pleas were entered at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court in October 2019 have had their sentences reviewed at the Court of Appeal following challenges on grounds of severity and insufficient weight given to mitigating circumstances. The older brother, convicted of sexually assaulting his sister in 2007-2008 when he was aged 19 to 20, received a three-and-a-half-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended. The younger brother, aged 15 at the time of his offence under child protection legislation, was sentenced to two years with nine months suspended. On appeal, the younger brother's sentence was found to be too severe by the three-judge court, which directed his immediate release subject to probation supervision for 18 months. His suspended portion commenced on 19 November. The older brother's appeal was dismissed, with the court finding the custodial term fell within appropriate judicial discretion.
The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge by a man accused of diesel laundering who sought to overturn a Circuit Court Judge's refusal to recuse himself from hearing the man's retrial. The Court held that no binding legal principle requires a judge to recuse himself after an inconclusive trial in which the judge ruled on contested evidence in a preliminary application. The five‑judge panel, including Chief Justice O'Donnell and Justices Dunne, Charleton, O'Malley and Woulfe, unanimously dismissed the appeal. The man had been tried on two diesel‑laundering charges; his lawyers partially succeeded in having some prosecution evidence deemed inadmissible, but the jury could not reach a verdict, leading to a retrial. He argued that the judge's earlier rulings on the admissibility and credibility of witnesses could bias the retrial, but the Court found that such past errors do not establish bias for a future trial.
In a burglary at a Drogheda home on 29 April 2019, a 28‑year‑old South American au pair was tied to her backpack's cables and locked in a cupboard, then later dragged back into the hot press where she endured verbal abuse for an hour. The intruders, Stephen Daly (29) and a co‑accused, stole €800, $100, a phone, a watch and jewellery. At a Trim Circuit Criminal Court hearing in November 2019, Daly pleaded guilty to burglary and false imprisonment. Judge Martina Baxter sentenced him to nine years for false imprisonment (the final year suspended for 12 months) and seven years for burglary, with both terms running concurrently. In the Court of Appeal, Daly's counsel argued the 12‑year headline sentence was excessive, citing mitigating factors and his early guilty plea. The appeal was dismissed; the judge's sentencing was upheld. The case highlighted the au pair's ordeal and the subsequent security measures installed by her employers.
In a 2021 appeal, a rapist step‑father who had claimed a shorter sentence because of Crohn's disease was denied a reduction. He had repeatedly raped his partner's daughter from age six over a five‑year period, threatening her with death if she spoke out. The Central Criminal Court convicted him in May 2014 of eight sexual assault and four rape counts between June 2003 and May 2008. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy sentenced him to 12 years' imprisonment. The appellant appealed both conviction and sentence. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, rejecting the argument that the trial judge failed to consider his medical condition. Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham noted the offence's great seriousness and that the judge had explicitly considered the disease when sentencing. The Director of Public Prosecutions said the sentence was appropriate and that further medical management would be a prison matter.
In 2018, Diamrem Ltd lost a High Court challenge to close a temporary carpark operated by Clare County Council across the road from the Cliffs of Moher visitors centre. Diamrem sought Section 160 planning injunctions to prohibit the use of the carpark and require its removal to enable a park‑and‑ride service. The company argued the carpark was an unauthorised development and that the council had failed to comply with conditions attached to the planning permission for the centre. The council and its subsidiary denied this, stating the original proposed carpark was never built and the existing one was approved as a Part 8 development. Justice Mary Faherty dismissed the action, citing the applicant's failure to commence the Section 160 proceedings within the statutory time period. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice Seamus Woulfe, upheld the dismissal, noting the time‑period issue was dispositive and that other matters should be left for a separate case.
In a 2016 bar‑stool assault case, the Supreme Court upheld a Circuit Court judge's decision to exclude a doctor's certificate as evidence because the doctor had not personally examined the victim. The accused, charged with assault causing harm and assault causing serious harm, was found guilty of the lesser offence and received a suspended jail sentence, while the serious‑harm charge was acquitted. The DPP had sought admission of the certificate under Section 25 of the 1997 Non‑Fatal Offences Act, which requires a certificate signed by a practitioner who examined the injured person. The defence argued the certificate was based on clinical notes from another practitioner. The Supreme Court ruled that the certificate could not be admitted as the practitioner could not certify facts from another's examination, and noted the section's ambiguity and narrow scope. The Court of Appeal had previously ruled the exclusion was incorrect, but the Supreme Court reversed that decision.
In 2021 the Court of Appeal heard the appeal of a 60‑year‑old Dublin man convicted of sexually assaulting 14 girls between 1994 and 2001. He had pleaded guilty in 2002 to ten attacks and received a nine‑year sentence with two years suspended. In March 2020 a jury convicted him of 30 counts of assault on four girls aged 11 to 17, and he was jailed for seven years. The appeal, presented by his barrister Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, argued that the first COVID‑19 lockdown in March 2020 may have pressured the jury, citing the Taoiseach's statement on school closures and the short two‑hour deliberation. The appeal also raised concerns about the handling of evidence, potential contamination of complainants' statements, and the adequacy of the judge's instructions on identification. The Court of Appeal said a judgment would be issued "some time" due to the multiplicity of arguments.
The Court of Appeal heard that the first Covid‑19 lockdown announced in March 2020 may have pressured the jury in a case involving a 60‑year‑old man convicted of grooming and sexually abusing teenage girls. The Central Criminal Court had found that between May 1994 and February 2001 the defendant carried out sexual assaults on 14 children, pleading guilty in 2002 to ten of those attacks and receiving a nine‑year sentence with two years suspended. In March 2020 the jury convicted him of 30 counts of sexual assault against four girls aged 11 to 17, and Ms Justice Tara Burns sentenced him to seven years. The defendant's barrister, Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, submitted 11 grounds of appeal, including that the lockdown announcement may have created a "logical conclusion" for jurors to feel pressured, that the jury deliberated only two hours, and that evidence was introduced in a way that prejudiced the defendant.
A High Court judge has granted An Bord Pleanála permission to appeal a decision quashing planning permission for a 24-turbine wind farm near Lanesborough, County Longford. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys had upheld a challenge by environmentalist Peter Sweetman against the proposed development at Mountdillon Peat Production Bog, finding that the application lacked sufficient detail to justify the granting of permission. The turbines, which would reach a tip height of 185 metres, would constitute one of Ireland's tallest structures if constructed to maximum dimensions. In his ruling on the appeal application, the judge rejected An Bord Pleanála's contention that his judgment carried extremely wide-ranging implications, describing such concerns as "overblown". He stated that certain questions arising from the case would benefit from clarification by the Court of Appeal or potentially the Supreme Court. Mr Sweetman was afforded opportunity to consider a cross-appeal before the order is finalised.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed a suspended sentence imposed on a man convicted of unlawful possession of firearms at the Court of Appeal in Dublin. Stephen O'Connor, aged 45, of Carndonagh, was handed a four-year suspended sentence in May by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to storing two loaded semi-automatic pistols concealed within a vacuum cleaner at his home on 7 September 2019. The State argues the suspension should not have been imposed in full, though it does not challenge the four-year term itself. The trial judge heard that O'Connor, who has no previous convictions, agreed to conceal the weapons when approached by a criminal associate during a period of gangland activity in Dublin. His legal counsel submitted that he was exceptionally vulnerable at the time, suffering serious mental health difficulties and previous suicide attempts, and had been exploited. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, reserved judgement, describing the case as very serious.
In 2016 a 39‑year‑old man was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court on 48 counts of rape, oral rape, rape with a screwdriver, rape with a vibrator and sexual assault at two Dublin locations between 2000 and 2005. He was sentenced to 11 years. The appeal, heard at the Court of Appeal, argues that the sentence was excessive because one third of the offences were committed when the offender was under 18 and that his youth should have been given greater weight. The appellant's counsel claims the trial judge erred in setting a 14‑year headline sentence and that the offender had no prior convictions. The appeal is pending; the court has not yet ruled on the sentence. The case remains an ongoing appeal.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a 53-year-old man, upholding his conviction for the historic sexual abuse of his cousin. The appellant, who pleaded not guilty, was convicted by a jury in July 2019 on 24 counts of indecent assault committed at an address in Co Donegal between April 1, 1984, and January 1, 1990. He was acquitted on charges relating to a second complainant. Judge Melanie Greally originally sentenced him to an effective operating sentence of ten years' imprisonment, comprising four years for offences committed when he was a minor and six years for later offences, ordered to run consecutively. The appellant argued that the trial judge erred by failing to sever the indictment for separate trials, failing to discharge the jury during cross-examination of a defence witness, and failing to provide an appropriately strong corroboration warning. In a written judgment, Mr Justice George Birmingham, joined by Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, dismissed these grounds. The court found that the trial judge properly dealt with the jury discharge application and that the verdicts indicated the jury heeded the corroboration warning. The judges also upheld the decision not to split the indictment, noting the offences formed a series of similar character. The court concluded there were no doubts about the fairness of the trial or the safety of the verdict.
A man who sexually assaulted his partner's niece and later claimed the allegation was fabricated due to a family feud has been jailed. Martin Cawley (65) of Drumcairn Parade, Tallaght, was found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting the girl at his home in Dublin in October 2013, when she was 10 years old. The trial was held in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in July this year. Cawley gave a hand-written statement to gardaí, alleging the child's mother was behind the allegation due to a family feud. The trial heard that the girl was in Cawley's home on the day in question while her mother visited her grandfather in hospital. She was in the sitting room when Cawley exposed himself, held her down, and simulated sex while on top of her. The offence came to light when the girl confided in her sister, and her parents went to gardaí in 2015. Cawley was interviewed and charged in early 2016. The complainant, now 18, stated in a victim impact statement that she has suffered from insomnia, depression, and high levels of anxiety as a result of the assault. She has informed the DPP that she wishes to waive her anonymity, allowing for the naming of Cawley as per the 1981 Rape Act. Cawley has expressed remorse in general terms but has not accepted the jury's verdict. He has 46 previous convictions, including one sexual offence. John Fitzgerald SC, defending, noted Cawley's health issues, including diabetes, heart problems, and prostate cancer, and said a prison sentence could be a life sentence for him. Judge Karen O'Connor imposed a three-year prison term but suspended the final nine months in light of Cawley's health issues. She commended the complainant's bravery and noted the severe impact of the assault on her mental health. The matter was adjourned at the appeal stage.
A highly educated man, now in his 70s, was convicted of sexually abusing his teenage nephew during a sleep‑over at his grandmother's house. The abuse began on 1 April 1989 when the nephew was 14 and continued for two years until 30 April 1991, when the man was 46. He was found guilty by a jury on 20 January 2017 of five counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault after a seven‑day trial. The judge sentenced him to eight years' imprisonment on all counts, with the final two years suspended. The man appealed, arguing that the case was prejudiced because the grandmother, a key witness, died in 1998 and the trial judge failed to withdraw the case. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, stating that the unavailability of the grandmother did not deprive the defendant of a realistic defence.
Keith Connorton, in his 40s, was convicted of murdering Graham McKeever, 32, on 18 February 2017 after finding McKeever sleeping with his partner, Claire McGrath, in their Tallaght flat. Connorton stabbed McKeever four times, the fatal blow penetrating the heart. He pleaded not guilty, claiming self‑defence, and later appealed, arguing that the trial judge erred in applying section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act (2006) and in allowing McGrath's 999 call to be admitted. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error of law and confirming the jury's 10‑2 guilty verdict. The court noted that McGrath's evidence was critical to the trial and that the judge was correct to admit the recording of her 999 call. Connorton remains sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 2010, Andrzej Benko, aged 50, attempted to murder his wife Joanna by striking her with a hammer while she slept. He was arrested, pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him and the Central Criminal Court sentenced him to 15 years. Benko appealed, claiming the sentence was too long and that he had cooperated with Gardaí after his arrest. The Court of Appeal considered mitigating factors such as his drug‑addicted wife, concern for their toddler, and a low risk of re‑offending. The prosecution argued that the case remained ongoing 11 years after the attack and that Benko had shown no remorse. The court noted Joanna's severe injuries, her need for lifelong care, and the marital problems that preceded the assault. The appeal was heard on 21 October 2021.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of Osborn Irabor for careless driving causing the death of cyclist Mary White on November 17, 2014. Irabor, aged 60 from French Park, Tyrrelstown, Dublin, was originally convicted following a two-day trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in October 2018 and disqualified from driving for four years. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge. His appeal centred on claims that the trial judge had not adequately explained legal terminology to the jury in accessible language during a re-charge following their request for clarification. The Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered by Mr Justice John Edwards, rejected these arguments, finding the verdict was properly supported by evidence. The court noted that the prosecution had presented clear evidence that Irabor's double-decker bus cut the corner when turning at a T junction on Burlington Road, Dublin, striking Ms White and causing her death from head injuries two days later.
A 73‑year‑old man, who could not be named to protect the victim's identity, was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of 72 counts of indecent assault on his step‑daughter between 1973 and 1979. The abuse began when the child was six and continued until she was about thirteen, with the first incident occurring before her First Holy Communion. The man, who was 25 at the time, was in a long‑term relationship with the victim's mother but never married her. He had earlier convictions for drink driving. In May 2019 Judge Elma Sheahan imposed a 10‑year sentence, using consecutive two‑year terms for seven counts and 14 years on other counts, citing the severity of the abuse and its lasting impact on the victim. The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, rejecting the appellant's appeal and confirming the judge's decision to impose consecutive terms.
Ibrahim Ahmed Gharib, 43, an Egyptian national, was convicted of raping a 27‑year‑old foreign student in her home after following her from a bus stop. He also denied sexual assault on a bus journey from Dublin to Carlow. In February 2018, a jury at the Central Criminal Court sentenced him to 12 years' imprisonment, with the final two years suspended, following a three‑week trial. Gharib appealed to reduce the sentence, arguing the 12‑year term was too high and that the judge should have suspended a larger portion. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal. Judge George Birmingham upheld the original sentence, noting the victim endured significant violence, a threat to kill, and no remorse from Gharib. The court recorded the victim's impact statement, describing her fear and loss of trust after the assault. Ibrahim Ahmed Gharib pleaded not guilty.
Phelim Coady, aged 22, was found in tears beside the body of Stephen Gleeson after a fatal crash on June 30, 2019, in Garrykennedy, Co. Tipperary. The 1995 Toyota Starlet, owned by Gleeson, overturned at 5am after hitting a bend, throwing Gleeson from the rear window. Coady, who was intoxicated and under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and driving a dangerously deficient vehicle. Judge Patrick Meghen sentenced him to two years and six months' imprisonment, suspended entirely, and banned him from driving for four years. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence as unduly lenient, citing insufficient weight to aggravating factors. Coady's counsel described the incident as highly unusual, noting the car's poor condition and the fact that the other occupants walked away uninjured. The Court of Appeal heard the case and reserved judgment. The judge expressed sympathy for Gleeson's family and emphasized the need for consequences.
Amit Chawla, 40, was sentenced at the Circuit Criminal Court after a jury found him guilty of two counts of possessing child pornography. The court heard that in June 2015, the mother of a boy, then aged 11, discovered a Skype conversation on her son's laptop in which the child had sent two naked photos to Chawla. Forensic analysis traced the conversation to Chawla, and the same images were subsequently found on his laptop in Rutland Place, Dublin. During the exchange, the boy stated he was 13, while Chawla identified himself as 34. Chawla responded to the images with comments including "sweet" and "nice," and wrote, "I'd like to have you in bed." Chawla was arrested and charged in 2018, denying the possession of the images. He has no previous convictions. Judge Karen O'Connor noted that the manner in which Chawla came into possession of the images was a significant aggravating factor, describing the conversation as having a "disturbing sexual nature." She emphasized that children must be protected from strangers engaging in such activity. Mitigating factors included the relatively small number of images and the fact that Chawla did not upload or share them. Judge O'Connor handed down a two-year sentence, suspending the final four months on a number of conditions. Chawla does not accept the jury's verdict and plans to appeal.
Roy Carroll, a 28‑year‑old former youth boxer from Cork, had a drugs conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal after a jury found him guilty of possessing a quantity of cocaine for sale. He was originally sentenced to four years' jail with 18 months suspended. The appeal was based on the fact that evidence of Carroll's silence during Garda interviews was admitted to the jury without proper direction on how to consider the exercise of his right to remain silent. The Court of Appeal ruled the trial was unsatisfactory and that the verdict was unsafe, noting that Carroll had been advised of his right to silence and had not answered questions. The court said it was disposed to order a retrial and returned the case to Cork Circuit Criminal Court, where the State intends to retry the matter on the basis of the Garda evidence. Roy Carroll pleaded not guilty.
John Walker, a taxi driver described by his adopted daughter Jennifer Kelly as an "evil and dangerous man", was convicted in December 2019 of 40 counts of indecently and sexually assaulting her over a ten‑year period from 1990 to 2000. Kelly, who was aged between eight and 18 during the offences, waived her right to anonymity and testified that Walker abused her at his home and at a former residence in Kilmashogue Grove, Greenpark, Dublin 12. Walker pleaded not guilty and later appealed, arguing that missing evidence from two witnesses and procedural errors by the trial judge had denied him a fair trial. His counsel claimed the judge failed to give the jury a directed acquittal, a delay warning, a re‑charge, and a corroboration warning. The Court of Appeal, in a judgment by Mr Justice John Edwards, dismissed all grounds of appeal, stating the trial was satisfactory and the verdict safe.
Simon McGinley (38) appeared before the Court of Appeal on 14 October seeking to have his murder conviction quashed on the basis of new psychiatric evidence. McGinley was convicted in April 2014 of murdering Eugene Gillespie (67) at a residence on Old Market Street, Sligo, on 19 September 2012. He had initially pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, a plea the State rejected. Evidence presented to the three-judge court indicated McGinley was displaying symptoms of schizophrenia at the time of the attack, a matter not considered during his trial. Defence counsel argued the defendant's mental state was directly relevant to the question of intent and that the jury should have been afforded the opportunity to consider this material. State counsel contended that mental disorder alone could not form the basis for overturning a conviction previously reaffirmed on appeal in 2016. Mr Justice George Birmingham reserved judgment. McGinley remains serving a life sentence.
In October 2021, the Court of Appeal quashed the drugs conviction of former youth boxer Roy Carroll, 28, after finding that the jury had been improperly directed regarding the admissibility of evidence of his silence during Garda interviews. Carroll had been found guilty of possessing 124.6 g of cocaine for sale and sentenced to four years' jail with 18 months suspended in February 2020. He had exercised his constitutional right to remain silent during the interview, a fact that was admitted to the jury without proper guidance on how to interpret it. The appellate judges ruled that the trial was unsatisfactory and that the verdict was unsafe because the jury was not given the necessary legal parameters to consider the right to silence. The case remains open for a potential retrial pending further submissions. Roy Carroll pleaded not guilty.
Brandon Power, 22, of St Joseph's Road, Newtownmountkennedy, was sentenced for assaulting Garda Trevor Devereux at Wicklow Circuit Court on 31 March 2018. Power bit the officer's finger during a courtroom struggle, later pleading guilty. Judge Terence O'Sullivan imposed a one‑year sentence suspended for 12 months on 11 April 2019. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was too lenient. The Court of Appeal agreed and called for background reports to determine an appropriate sentence. Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham, together with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, were to assess the reports. The case was adjourned to 13 December after a probation report was unavailable. Birmingham warned Power that the matter was very serious, that he must "put his best foot forward," and that a prison sentence was likely even if he cooperated positively with probation. He also cautioned that failure to cooperate could lead to a significantly more severe penalty.
In an appeal-stage hearing, Mr Justice Paul Burns addressed the extradition of Farah Damji, a 54-year-old woman with a previous address at Bachelor's Walk, Dublin 2. Ms Damji was convicted in her absence at Southwark Crown Court for breaking a restraining order and sentenced to consecutive jail terms of 18 months and nine months, though an appeal court has since ruled they may run concurrently. The judge dismissed the respondent's objections to extradition, finding that UK prison medical care would not breach her human rights. He rejected arguments that she requires long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy unavailable in UK prisons, stating that treatment must be cruel and indecent to prevent extradition. However, the judge could not deliver a full ruling due to legal ambiguities regarding the European Arrest Warrant system post-Brexit, noting that the Court of Justice of the European Union is expected to return judgment next month. He confirmed sufficient correspondence in Irish law to allow extradition for at least one of the crimes. The matter was adjourned to December 6, and Ms Damji was remanded on continuing bail.