Aoife Lynch, aged 22, spoke from home after the Court of Appeal increased her attacker Anthony Smith's sentence. Smith, 45, had originally been sentenced to five years' imprisonment with three suspended for sexual assault and exploitation of a 14‑year‑old girl. The appeal, prompted by the Director of Public Prosecutions, found the original sentence too lenient and overturned it, ruling that only two years of the headline term should have been suspended. Lynch said she was relieved the proceedings were over and hoped the ruling would encourage other victims to come forward. She urged more support for those who speak out and highlighted the stress and anxiety she and her family endured. The judge noted Lynch's vulnerability and Smith's predatory behaviour, while the prosecutor emphasised the undue leniency of the original sentence. Smith's counsel defended the original sentence as appropriate. The unnamed woman pleaded guilty.
The Court of Appeal heard that Tusla requested regular examinations of the infant girl at the centre of Ireland's first recorded conviction for female genital mutilation (FGM). Dr Sinead Harty, a consultant paediatrician, testified that she was asked by Tusla to perform follow-up examinations after the child was admitted to hospital in September 2016 with bleeding, due to concerns she had been a victim of FGM and could be subjected to the practice again. The girl's 39-year-old father and 29-year-old mother were later jailed for five-and-a-half years and four years and nine months respectively following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in November 2019. Both pleaded not guilty to one count of carrying out an act of FGM on the then one-year-old girl at an address in Dublin on September 16, 2016, and one count of child cruelty on the same day. The couple, who moved to this country from Africa and cannot be identified to protect the identity of their daughter, have lodged an appeal against their convictions and sentences. The State has submitted that their sentences were too lenient. The hearing continues.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court appeal, two medical experts disputed whether a one‑year‑old girl's injuries were due to female genital mutilation (FGM). The parents, convicted of child cruelty, were found guilty of performing FGM on their daughter on 16 September 2016. Professor Birgitta Essen, a Swedish obstetrician‑gynecologist with 25 years of FGM research, argued that the absence of scarring and a visible clitoris meant FGM had not occurred, citing WHO criteria. Professor Sri Paran, a paediatric surgeon who cauterised the wound, contended that cautery could mask scars and that the child had not self‑injured. The father's counsel highlighted translation errors that he claimed compromised the trial's fairness. The appeal hearing remains ongoing.
In 2015, Richard O'Mara, aged 32, raped a 17‑year‑old schoolgirl twice at his sister's 18th birthday party in County Clare. The first assault occurred in a field behind the house; the second took place on a couch inside the house after the party. The victim, who was terrified of seeing O'Mara again, stayed in her bedroom for two months and reported severe physical and psychological trauma. O'Mara pleaded not guilty but was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury in April 2019. He was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment, with the final two years suspended on strict conditions. In June 2019, the Court of Appeal dismissed O'Mara's appeal, upholding the conviction and confirming that the evidence and investigative procedures met the required legal standards. No further sentence changes were announced.
Matthew Cummins, aged 27, was released after serving seven years for a murder conviction that was quashed by the Court of Appeal. The appeal found no evidence that Cummins and James Davy were part of a joint enterprise with Sean Davy, who struck Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley eight times with a baseball bat. Cummins admitted responsibility for burn marks on Dooley's legs and the armchair, having tried to set fire to the body to destroy evidence. Mr Justice Michael White sentenced Cummins to nine years, with two years suspended, to run consecutively with a two‑year arson term. Cummins has been in custody since 2014 and is now eligible for release. The judge noted his exemplary prison behaviour but warned of a high risk of reoffending. The article reports only the procedural outcome and Cummins' admission of the fire‑setting attempt.
Zoltan Almasi, a 49‑year‑old Serbian truck driver, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the manslaughter of 20‑year‑old Joseph "Joe Joe" Dunne, who died after Almasi struck him on the head with a baseball bat. The Central Criminal Court found that Almasi had intended to cause serious injury, delivering a savage blow that caused near‑instantaneous death. Almasi had previously been convicted of murder in 2014, appealed to the Court of Appeal, and had that conviction quashed by the Supreme Court, leading to a retrial. The final trial ended with a jury disagreement on the murder charge, so the court imposed a manslaughter sentence. Almasi pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and the judge noted mitigating factors such as his lack of prior convictions and his cooperation in prison. The sentence was back‑dated to his 2014 arrest.
The Central Criminal Court is set to resume with several high-profile matters, including the appeal of Aaron Brady. Brady, 30, was convicted by an 11-to-1 majority jury verdict for the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe in January 2013. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years, plus a concurrent 14-year sentence for robbery. His appeal is expected in 2022. Other upcoming trials include that of Sameer Syed, 37, accused of murdering his wife Seema Banu and their two children in Rathfarnham in October 2021; his trial is scheduled for June 15, 2022. Michael Scott, 55, faces trial on January 11, 2022, for the alleged murder of Chrissie Treacy in Portumna in 2018. Stephen Silver, 44, is charged with the murder of Garda Colm Horkan in Castlerea in June 2020; his trial is also set for June 15, 2022. Additionally, an appeal by Boy B regarding the 2018 murder of Ana Kriegel is expected before the Court of Appeal. Boy B and Boy A were found guilty in 2019; both were 13 at the time, denied the offences, and were remanded to Oberstown Detention Centre.
Zoltan Almasi, 49, appeared before Mr Justice Michael White for sentencing after his conviction for the manslaughter of Joseph Dunne. The matter is at the appeal stage, following a history where Almasi's initial murder conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court, leading to two retrials that ended in jury disagreements. Ultimately, the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted a plea of manslaughter, which Almasi had previously offered. Prosecution counsel Caroline Biggs SC stated the DPP considers the offence in the high culpability bracket for manslaughter, attracting a headline sentence of 10 to 15 years. Defence counsel Barra McGrory QC argued the incident was spontaneous, noting Almasi had no prior convictions and did not intend serious harm. He suggested the offence falls in the higher end of the middle category, citing Almasi's positive prison conduct and remorse. The Dunne family, who described the killing as murder, complained that the legal process had torn their son's character apart. Mr Justice White adjourned the matter, stating he will sentence Almasi on September 8.
James Davy, originally convicted of the murder of 64‑year‑old Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley, had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal and replaced with a conviction for assisting an offender. Mr Justice Michael White at the Central Criminal Court sentenced Davy to nine years, noting he had served his sentence and should be released after entering custody in November 2014. Matthew Cummins, whose murder conviction was also quashed, will be sentenced for his role in an attempted cover‑up; his barrister said he accepts responsibility for attempting to set fire to the deceased after Dooley had been beaten to death by Sean Davy. Cummins' behaviour in prison has been described as "quite exceptional" and the judge is considering suspending part of his sentence and running it concurrently with sentences for other offences.
Slawomir Gierlowski, 36, has had ten years added to his prison term following a sentencing hearing at the Central Criminal Court. Gierlowski was previously convicted in 2018 of random outdoor attacks on three women in Clondalkin between 2011 and 2016, receiving a 22.5-year sentence with four years suspended. In May 2019, he was convicted of attempted rape, sexual assault, and assault causing harm against a fourth victim in a city centre attack on December 18, 2010, charges he denied. Sentencing for these offences was adjourned while Gierlowski appealed his 2018 convictions and sentence, appeals which the Court of Appeal dismissed in July. Today, Mr Justice Michael White imposed a headline sentence of 15 years for the attempted rape, reduced to ten years to be served consecutively upon the termination of his current term. He also imposed concurrent five-year sentences for the other two charges. The judge noted Gierlowski remains a serious threat to women's safety due to his lack of acknowledgement of predatory behaviour. The court applied the principle of totality, determining that the circumstances warranted minimal reduction. Gierlowski is currently serving his original sentence, with the new ten-year term to follow.
The Court of Appeal has refused to order the reexamination of a child in an appeal by her parents, who were convicted in 2020 of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child cruelty. Mr Justice John Edwards, presiding over the three-judge court, deemed the requested examination disproportionate and likely to cause further distress to the child. The parents, a 38-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, originally pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of FGM and one count of child cruelty committed on their then one-year-old daughter in September 2016. After a trial where the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts, Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced the man to five and a half years' imprisonment and the woman to four years and nine months' imprisonment in January 2020. The appeal centers on conflicting medical opinions; trial doctors maintained the clitoris was removed, while Professor Birgitta Essen, a Swedish FGM expert, reviewed evidence including a video recording and found the clitoris intact. Although the court rejected the request for a new physical examination, it will allow Professor Essen to testify at the appeal hearing to assess whether her testimony should be admitted as new evidence. The judge noted that the existing 2019 video recording is of very good quality and sufficient for expert analysis by both sides.
In August 2021 the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of a 16‑year‑old for sexually assaulting a six‑year‑old neighbour in April 2019. The boy had been found guilty by a jury in December 2020 after the older child pulled down the younger boy's trousers and repeatedly spanked his bare bottom. His lawyers appealed on the basis of a delay before trial and the decision to allow the victim to view a video of his own interview, arguing that this would bias the child's testimony. Mr Justice George Birmingham dismissed both arguments, stating that the delay did not prejudice the case and that the video had limited impact because the defence did not cross‑examine the child. The appeal was rejected, leaving the original conviction intact.
In 2021 the Court of Appeal quashed the 2003 murder conviction of Yusuf Ali Abdi, a 48‑year‑old father, and ordered a retrial. The original verdict had been based on a majority of jurors accepting a prosecution psychiatrist's view that Abdi did not suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. In 2019 new evidence showed that Abdi's diagnosis had changed to paranoid schizophrenia, a fact that could have altered the jury's decision. The retrial, held in 2019, resulted in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice George Birmingham, declared the original conviction a miscarriage of justice, noting that both defence and prosecution experts agreed Abdi was mentally ill at the time of the offence. The case involved the death of Abdi's 20‑month‑old son, Nathan, who suffered fatal head injuries on 17 April 2001. The court found no evidence of prosecutorial irregularity or perjured testimony.
In August 2021 the High Court granted bail to James Davy, 30, after the Court of Appeal quashed his murder conviction for the 2014 killing of 64‑year‑old Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley. The appeal replaced the murder verdicts of Davy and Matthew Cummins, 27, with convictions for assisting an offender under Section 7(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1997. Davy was released on a €100 bond with conditions including a daily curfew, a mobile phone requirement, and a prohibition on travel to Edenderry. Cummins was denied bail and must remain in custody until his September 2 sentencing hearing. The High Court noted the two men had different circumstances and that Cummins had a larger record of post‑murder offences. The decision reflects the court's assessment that Davy's case warranted bail while Cummins' did not. The DPP was considering whether to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision to the Supreme Court.
The High Court adjourned the extradition challenge of Imre Arakas until September 23, pending the outcome of Liam Campbell's Supreme Court appeal. Arakas, 63, is jailed in Ireland for conspiracy to murder James 'Mago' Gately and faces Lithuanian allegations of murder, firearms, and conspiracy charges related to the 2015 shooting of Deimantas Bugavicius. While the Minister for Justice's counsel confirmed Lithuania intends to try Arakas, his legal team argued that a recent Court of Appeal dismissal of Campbell's similar extradition appeal is relevant. Campbell, 58, has applied to the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling. The judge determined it was impractical to proceed with Arakas' hearing while the Supreme Court considers whether to adopt Campbell's case. Arakas, who has been in custody since April 2017, was arrested in Dublin in February 2018 under a European Arrest Warrant. He maintains he was in Spain during the alleged 2015 incident. The court noted that an eyewitness had previously identified Arakas as not being present at the scene. The matter remains unresolved and is strictly adjourned, not concluded, awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on Campbell's application.
The Court of Appeal has reduced the jail sentence of an unnamed 51-year-old man who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of his step-daughter, then aged 11, and to producing and distributing child pornography. The appellant challenged the severity of the original six-year sentence imposed by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in July 2020, arguing that the final term of six years and nine months, with nine months suspended, was excessive. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, upheld the categorisation of the offences in the mid-range but determined that the headline sentence for the two child pornography offences was too high. Consequently, the sentence for those offences was reduced by six months to five years and six months. The original three-year sentence for the sexual assault conviction remained unchanged. The court also imposed a post-release supervision order of six years, with the condition that the appellant receive psychological counselling. The appeal was successful in reducing the total effective custody period, reflecting the court's assessment that the original sentencing did not adequately balance the gravity of the conduct with the specific circumstances of the pornography charges.
A Dublin man has lost his appeal against conviction for membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army. The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal by Ciaran Maguire (32), who was sentenced to four years and 11 months imprisonment following his conviction by the Special Criminal Court in May 2018. Maguire and his co-accused Kevin Braney (46) were convicted of membership following an incident in July 2017 when they travelled to County Meath and threatened an accident victim, warning him they were members of the IRA and would shoot him if he did not withdraw an insurance claim against his former employer. On appeal, the court upheld the lawfulness of Maguire's arrest, the admissibility of surveillance evidence, and the inferences drawn from his interview with gardaí. The appellate judges found that court interventions during cross-examination of a key witness were not unfair. The appeal was dismissed.
Michael Murray, a convicted rapist, was sentenced to 16 further years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for death threats and harassment. The validated procedural stage is an appeal, though the report details the sentencing following his guilty verdict. Murray, who pleaded not guilty to most charges, was found guilty of threatening barristers Dominic McGinn SC and Tony McGillicuddy BL, harassing his rape victim, and possessing a mobile phone in prison. He had previously been jailed for 19 years for rape and abduction. Judge O'Connor described his actions as an "unprecedented and deliberate" abuse of process. Murray was excluded from the hearing after throwing a Bible at the judge. The court imposed nine years for the threat to Mr McGinn and seven years for the threat to Mr McGillicuddy. Additional sentences included seven years for harassing the victim, four years each for harassing Mr McGinn and a solicitor, and five years for phone possession. The nine-year and seven-year sentences were ordered to be served consecutively, resulting in an effective operative sentence of 16 years, to be served after his original 19-year term. Murray was also ordered to have no contact with the three harassed individuals for 30 years. No mitigation was presented.
Samantha Irwin, 37, lost her appeal against a five‑year sentence for a syringe‑assisted robbery at Real Brazil in Dublin on 20 September 2018. During the incident she grabbed the shop assistant by the jumper, uncapped a syringe and tried to strike her arm; the assistant pulled her arm out of the jumper and the robbery was stopped. Irwin handed over €55 to the shop manager. She was identified by a bloodstained post‑it that fell from her pocket, which Gardai matched to her DNA. The court noted her 19 prior convictions, mainly traffic offences, and the use of a syringe as a key factor in sentencing. The judge suspended 18 months of the five‑year term; the appeal was dismissed by Justice Patrick McCarthy, who found no error in the original sentencing. The case was heard in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Samantha Irwin pleaded guilty.
In a 2021 decision, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Conor Metcalfe, a 30‑year‑old from Monastery Park, Clondalkin, who had been sentenced to four years and six months by the Special Criminal Court for IRA membership. Metcalfe's appeal against conviction was rejected because the trial court had lawfully used the opinion evidence of Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony Howard, who claimed privilege over the material that led him to believe Metcalfe was an IRA member on 24 November 2015. The court also rejected Metcalfe's appeal against the sentence, stating that the imposed term was consistent with other cases and that the 13 prior convictions, while not directly related to IRA membership, had a limited mitigating effect. The Court affirmed the validity of opinion evidence in IRA membership trials, noting its long-standing place in Irish law. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
Former INLA member Dessie O'Hare, known as "The Border Fox," withdrew his appeal against the severity of his sentence at the Court of Appeal. O'Hare, of County Armagh, was jailed in 2019 by the Special Criminal Court for seven years for falsely imprisoning a family and leading a violent attack. He pleaded guilty to assaulting John Roche and falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne at Rathcoole and Saggart on June 9, 2015. The court sentenced him to three years for the assault and ten years for the imprisonment, with the final three years suspended for life; the sentences run concurrently. A previous appeal hearing was adjourned after O'Hare dismissed his lawyers. During today's hearing, Justice George Birmingham warned that the court could increase his sentence, noting his 1988 conviction for kidnapping Dr. John O'Grady, for which he received 40 years before release under the Good Friday Agreement. Counsel argued O'Hare was being punished for past sins, citing co-accused Declan "Whacker" Duffy, who received six years in 2018 for similar offences. After Justice Birmingham indicated the appeal was unlikely to succeed, O'Hare instructed his barrister to withdraw the appeal. The matter was adjourned following the withdrawal, and the original sentence stands.
Robert Day, a 50‑year‑old from Cabra, Dublin, lost his appeal against a 2018 conviction for membership of the Irish Republican Army. The Special Criminal Court had found him a member since age 18 or 19 and sentenced him to five years. The conviction relied on voice‑identification evidence from a bugging operation in Castleknock, where Day was recorded speaking while CCTV confirmed his presence. The prosecution also used belief evidence from a chief superintendent. Day's counsel argued that no procedural safeguards protected the identification evidence, but the Court of Appeal rejected this claim, finding no unfairness. The appeal was dismissed, and the court adjusted the back‑dating of Day's sentence to account for time spent on remand, setting his release for January rather than February 2022.
A 30‑year‑old man, Adam O'Keefe, lost his appeal against a life sentence for murdering his girlfriend, Amy McCarthy, in Cork. He had admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming intoxication and lack of intent. The Central Criminal Court jury found him guilty. O'Keefe's appeal argued that the trial judge failed to consider intoxication as a factor in the provocation defence. However, two Supreme Court judgments in 2020 and 2021 held that intoxication cannot be used to excuse a loss of self‑control in provocation. Justice Úna Ni Raifeartaigh, sitting with the Court President and Justice Patrick McCarthy, ruled that these judgments carried significant weight and that the trial judge's handling of provocation was correct. Consequently, the Court dismissed O'Keefe's appeal, leaving his life sentence intact.
Liam Campbell, aged 58, who was found civilly liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing, is to be extradited to Lithuania where he is suspected of international weapons smuggling. The Court of Appeal dismissed Campbell's appeal against the High Court's decision to surrender him. Campbell had fought extradition for over twelve years, having been arrested in 2016 under a second European Arrest Warrant issued by Lithuanian authorities. The warrant alleges that between late 2006 and early 2007 he arranged with members of the Real Irish Republican Army to acquire firearms and explosives from Lithuania and smuggle them into Ireland. The High Court had ordered his extradition in June 2020; Campbell's counsel argued that Lithuania had not yet decided to prosecute him, citing an affidavit that the decision to indict was contingent on further evidence. The Court of Appeal found no error in the High Court's ruling and upheld the extradition order.
The Special Criminal Court has rejected a defence application to adjourn the ongoing trial of four men accused of abducting and torturing Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney. The accused, Alan O'Brien, Darren Redmond, Luke O'Reilly, and a man identified as YZ, have all pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and intentionally causing serious harm. Defence counsel Michael O'Higgins SC argued that the law regarding the mass retention of mobile phone data is unclear due to conflicting European Court of Justice rulings, requesting a referral to the CJEU. Presiding Judge Tony Hunt refused the application, noting that the legal basis for data retention is provided by the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 and that the Court of Appeal could address any errors later. The court also rejected a defence suggestion to recall witnesses to re-swear oaths, with Judge Hunt stating such a procedure was not practicable. The trial continues before a three-judge panel comprising Mr Justice Hunt, Judge David McHugh, and Judge Gerard Griffin.
In 2011, Jonathan Duke, 27, was strangled at Bridge House, Bandon, and his body was thrown into the River Bandon. A day earlier, John Forrester, 42, had been murdered in the same building. Gardaí believe Duke was killed because he knew of Forrester's murder. Catherine O'Connor, former girlfriend of Forrester, is serving life for both killings. Her boyfriend, Ciprian Grozavu, 47, denied both murders and was tried separately. He was found guilty of both murders, sentenced to life, but appealed the Duke conviction; the Court of Appeal quashed it and ordered a retrial. At the retrial, Grozavu was acquitted of murder but found guilty of two counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another. Mr Justice Michael MacGrath sentenced him to eight years for assisting O'Connor in disposing of Duke's body in the river and a concurrent six‑year sentence for removing the body from the scene.
Slawomir Gierlowski, 37, a father of two from Galtymore Drive, Drimnagh, was convicted of three premeditated attacks on women in Clondalkin between 2011 and 2016. The attacks included a daylight assault with a hunting knife and two late‑night sexual assaults. Witnesses linked a suspect van to Gierlowski, and DNA evidence matched his DNA to a victim's nails and semen on another victim's clothing. Gardaí also found duct tape and cable ties in the van, used in the assaults. A jury found him guilty on all nine charges, including false imprisonment, sexual assault, assault and possession of a hunting knife with intent to intimidate. Judge Pauline Codd imposed consecutive sentences of eight years, nine and a half years and five years, suspending the final four years on the condition of completing sex offender programmes. The sentence was upheld after Gierlowski's appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed. Slawomir Gierlowski pleaded not guilty.
Emma Fehily, 37, was sentenced by the Court of Appeal to three‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, with 18 months suspended for two years, on two counts of forgery and two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The sentence follows the discovery of two further forged documents, one purporting to be from a doctor and another from a counselling service, which were found by Fehily's own defence team. The documents were dated 2018 and were not new materials prepared for the appeal hearing. Fehily had previously pleaded guilty to multiple theft offences and had been given a fully‑suspended one‑year sentence in 2020, which the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed as unduly lenient. The judge noted that Fehily had shown little or no remorse and that her legal team had acted diligently in uncovering the forged documents.
A 33‑year‑old former security guard, Noel McKeon, lost an appeal against a 14‑year jail term for raping and violently assaulting two escort workers. The Court of Appeal upheld the Court of Appeal's finding that McKeon's attacks on a Latin American woman on 18 June 2016 and a Romanian woman on 2 February 2018 had a 'sinister, xenophobic context'. McKeon had contacted the women via an "escorts" website, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, assault, robbery and rape, and admitted false imprisonment of the first victim. In the first incident he forced the woman to jump naked from a window, stabbed her, and raped her after a violent struggle. In the second he demanded sex without a condom, punched her, pulled her hair, and raped her twice. Justice Tony Hunt imposed consecutive ten‑year sentences, reduced to 16 years with a two‑year suspension on condition of treatment. The appeal was dismissed.
A man from Raphoe in County Donegal has had his prison sentence doubled by the Court of Appeal following two attacks on his neighbour's home and an assault that left her with a broken jaw. Leon Kelly was originally sentenced to two-and-a-half years, with twelve months suspended, by Letterkenny Circuit Court in November 2020 for assault causing harm and criminal damage. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed on grounds of undue leniency. The court heard that Kelly rammed his vehicle into his neighbour's car and home on 13 April 2019, causing €13,000 in damage and breaking the woman's jaw. He subsequently fled across the River Finn into Northern Ireland but was apprehended by the PSNI and returned. Eight days later, he attacked the same property again with his Volkswagen Passat. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy increased the sentence to three years imprisonment, finding the original term did not reflect the gravity and violence of the offences. Leon Kelly pleaded guilty.
In a 2021 Court of Appeal hearing, the lawyer for a Ugandan man serving a ten‑year sentence for infecting two women with HIV argued that the trial judge should have warned the jury that the case relied on circumstantial evidence. The appellant, 30, had been convicted in 2018 for intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the women between November 2009 and June 2010. The appeal centred on whether the jury was properly directed about the nature of the evidence, as no conclusive scientific proof of transmission was presented. The Court of Appeal noted that the defence had not raised the issue at the lower court, but the judge could still consider it. The court reserved judgment, with the appeal focusing on the adequacy of the jury's instructions regarding circumstantial evidence. The case remains at the appeal stage, with no outcome announced.
A convicted murderer, Ciprian Grozavu, aged 47, will be sentenced next week for impeding the investigation into the murder of Jonathan Duke, 27, who was strangled and thrown into the River Bandon on 12 November 2011. Grozavu was found guilty of two counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another. He was acquitted of murder after a retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal. The case involved the murder of John Forrester, 42, who was killed the day before Duke's murder. Catherine O'Connor, Forrester's former girlfriend, is serving life for both murders. Grozavu's trial was held at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick, and he has 13 prior convictions. The judge will hand down the sentence on Tuesday next.
The Court of Appeal has quashed the second murder conviction of David O'Loughlin, substituting it with a manslaughter verdict after finding no evidence he intended to kill or cause serious harm to Liam Manley. Mr Justice Michael White at the Central Criminal Court subsequently sentenced O'Loughlin to 12 years' imprisonment. The judge set a headline sentence of 18 years, reduced it to 14 years based on mitigating factors, and suspended the final two years on conditions of good behaviour, probation supervision for two years, and attendance at directed therapeutic services. The sentence was backdated to May 23, 2013, when O'Loughlin first entered custody, meaning he can expect release in early 2022. The court noted O'Loughlin's "serious propensity for violence" and his 54 previous convictions, including multiple assaults causing serious harm. However, mitigating factors included his guilty plea to manslaughter prior to his first trial, his academic achievements in prison, and his tragic background involving domestic violence. The appeal process followed the overturning of his first conviction due to jury irregularities and the subsequent retrial where he was initially convicted of murder.
In a 2021 decision, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of a 56‑year‑old travelling salesman who had been convicted of raping a 24‑year‑old female assistant at a fair in County Cork in 2015. The appeal was based on three grounds, including the alleged inadmissibility of text messages exchanged between the salesman, the victim and another female employee. The Court found the messages had evidential value in showing the salesman's intent to have intercourse with the employee and that the appeal had no basis. The judge who had sentenced the salesman to five years' imprisonment in 2018, Mr Justice Paul McDermott, had ruled the conviction valid. The Court also rejected claims that the trial judge had given an unbalanced charge to the jury, describing the charge as "impeccable, balanced and thoughtful.".
A man convicted of robbing a post office in Co Longford has had the conditions of his sentence varied by the Court of Appeal. Alan Coyne (46) of Ballinaree Cottage, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final two years suspended at Longford Circuit Criminal Court in May 2020 after pleading guilty to robbing An Post in Ardagh on October 16, 2019. He took €13,238 after threatening staff and a customer with a knife. The sentencing conditions required Coyne to pay €4,000 compensation to each of two victims within two years of release, with €2,000 due within the first twelve months, while also attending a residential drug treatment programme. The Court of Appeal agreed that these requirements were unrealistic, as the 20-week treatment course would prevent him from working. Mr Justice George Birmingham and his colleagues varied the conditions to allow €2,000 per victim to be paid within the first two years of release, with the balance due within a further twelve months.
Gary Thompson and Glen Thompson have withdrawn their appeals against 12.5-year jail sentences imposed for their roles in a Kinahan Cartel plot to murder Patsy Hutch. The brothers, who pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to unlawful possession of four firearms with intent to endanger life at Belmont Hall Apartments, Gardiner Street, Dublin, on March 10, 2018, and directing the activities of a criminal organisation between February 1 and March 10, 2018, faced a Court of Appeal hearing where Mr Justice George Birmingham questioned the reality of their arguments. He noted that Glen Thompson had already received a 25% discount from an 18-year headline sentence and warned that any successful appeal could result in a longer term, describing such an outcome as a "Pyrrhic victory." The court also referenced the 11.5-year sentence given to co-accused Robert Browne and the 10-year sentence imposed on Patrick Curtis, who was found to be the top figure within the sub-cell. Counsel for the DPP argued that the appellants' claims of unfairness lacked reality, noting that mitigating factors beyond their guilty pleas were minimal. Following these remarks, counsel for the Thompson brothers stated they had received instructions to withdraw their appeals, leaving the original sentences intact.
In 2017, Richard Dekker (34) of Blanchardstown was convicted of murdering 17‑year‑old Daniel McAnaspie, a teenager who had been in HSE care. The murder took place at Tolka Valley Park on 26 February 2010, when Daniel was out socialising and drinking. Dekker pleaded innocence, but a jury found him guilty after a trial at the Central Criminal Court. The body was discovered two months later in a deep drain in Rathfeigh, County Meath, and a post‑mortem revealed a stabbing. Dekker had previously been acquitted in 2013 when a judge found insufficient evidence for a jury trial; the State later sought a retrial under the Criminal Justice Procedure Act 2010. At the Court of Appeal, counsel Eoghan Cole BL argued the appeal was "dispositive", meaning a successful appeal would preclude a retrial. The appeal hearing was set for 21 January 2022.
Nikkita Brogan, a 24-year-old woman from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, appeared at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court regarding her role in a taxi hijacking. She pleaded guilty to the unlawful seizure of a vehicle at Rutland Grove, Crumlin, on May 6, 2019. Prosecution evidence, including dashcam footage, alleged that Brogan, seated in the back, released the driver's seatbelt to allow two men to drag the 60-year-old driver from the vehicle and assisted in reattaching the gearstick knob. The men, who have already been sentenced for robbery and assault, allegedly choked and punched the driver. Brogan admitted to unclicking the seatbelt but denied threatening the victim. Her defense counsel, Paul O'Carroll SC, noted that the case had been delayed by a procedural matter referred to the Court of Appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions to clarify the service of books of evidence. He also highlighted Brogan's 76 previous convictions, primarily for shoplifting, and her current three-month term for theft. Judge Melanie Greally observed that past leniency had not improved Brogan's conduct. The matter was adjourned until November 12 to allow a probation report to be prepared, with the balance of the plea in mitigation to be heard on that date.
A man who poured petrol on his wife and two children after setting fire to petrol spread in their home was jailed for a year by the Court of Appeal. He had earlier received a suspended sentence for threatening to damage property and for breaching a barring order issued by his wife six weeks before the St Patrick's Day attack. He pleaded guilty to the threat, to breaching the barring order, and to criminal damage for setting fire to a light at the house the next day. A Circuit Court judge had given him a wholly suspended 12‑month sentence for the attack, but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal, noting the man's repeated breaches of the barring order and the aggravating circumstances.
In a case heard at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Joseph Behan, aged 45, was convicted of robbery, attempted robbery, assault causing serious harm, assault causing harm, possession of a firearm and reckless discharging of a firearm after a raid on Mizzoni's Pizza in Edenmore Shopping Centre on New Year's Day 2019. The jury found that Behan entered the takeaway with a gun, demanded money while staff toasted the New Year, and when a staff member threw a champagne bottle at him, he fled but fired several shots into the kitchen. Two staff members were shot, one sustaining a through‑and‑through chest wound that put him at serious risk of death. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Behan to 15 years' imprisonment for assault causing harm. Behan's appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed, with the court upholding the conviction and sentence.
Ross Outram, aged 30, was convicted in 2019 by a Central Criminal Court jury of murdering 90‑year‑old Paddy Lyons, the oldest man in his village, at Loughleagh, Ballysaggart, Lismore, Co. Waterford. Lyons was found dead in his armchair with blood on his face; he had suffered multiple blows to head and neck, fractures of hip, jaw and ribs, with the hip fracture deemed the cause of death. Outram, previously convicted of burglary and assault, claimed self‑defence, arguing that Lyons' fatal fall was unrelated to the assault. The Court of Appeal rejected this appeal, stating that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that the assault caused the fall and hip fracture. The appeal was dismissed, leaving Outram's life sentence intact.
In Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court, a 31‑year‑old man was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison, with the last three years suspended, for defiling a 14‑year‑old girl and a 16‑year‑old girl at his apartment between 2017 and 2018. He pleaded guilty to both defilement offences and to two further counts of meeting a child for sexual exploitation. The Court of Appeal found the original 12‑year sentence excessive, reducing the headline sentence to 11 years. After considering mitigating factors, the court imposed a nine‑year prison term, suspending the final two years for ten years. The man remains on the Sex Offenders Register for life. The appeal was based on the judge's assessment of the gravity of the offences and the appellant's conduct, described as "cunning, manipulative and offensive.".
In 2021, Niall Conneely, 48, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious harm and driving without insurance after a crash on 27 October 2018 that left father and son Sanghodara and Manoj Kataram seriously injured. The initial sentencing judge, citing Manoj's "exceptional level of charity" in his plea for mercy, imposed a four‑year prison term but suspended the final three years, ordering 240 hours of community service instead. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal, after hearing the case, found the original sentence too light and re‑sentenced Conneely to four years in prison, suspending the final three years. Conneely entered a bond for good behaviour for the suspended period and agreed to report to Garda Station as required. The decision was made by Justice Birmingham, Justice McCarthy and Justice Kennedy. The case remains at the appellate stage.
A 42‑year‑old man, Vasile Plesca, withdrew his appeal against a three‑year jail term after being convicted of assault causing harm to his wife. The incident, which took place on 26 April 2017, involved Plesca striking his wife with a rolling pin in a jealous rage, forcing her to remove blood‑stained clothing and shower, and leaving her with bruises and marks. Video evidence recorded by the victim showed her screaming and pleading for help. Plesca denied strangling her and claimed he avoided hospital visits to protect his children. A psychological report noted an intellectual disability. Judge Karen O'Connor suspended the final year of a four‑year sentence, and Plesca had appealed to the Court of Appeal. Before proceedings began, Court President Justice George Birmingham allowed the withdrawal of the appeal, citing the seriousness of the offence and the importance of the appellant's awareness of sentencing options. Vasile Plesca pleaded guilty.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed Regina Keogh's appeal against her conviction for the murder of Gareth Hutch. The 42-year-old, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 by the Special Criminal Court, was found guilty of colluding with her brother, Jonathan Keogh, to cause serious injury to Mr Hutch. Jonathan Keogh, 34, was also jailed for life for the 'deliberate and callous murder' committed on May 24, 2016. A third man, Thomas Fox, 32, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison alongside the Keoghs. All three defendants had denied the crime. Keogh's counsel argued that the trial court erred in law by treating Jonathan Keogh's DNA on latex gloves as corroboration of prosecution witness Mary McDonnell's evidence, despite an innocent explanation for the DNA. The State contended this was not a fundamental error. Presiding Justice George Birmingham, with Justices Patrick McCarthy and Isobel Kennedy, rejected all grounds of appeal. The court found that the evidence regarding the gloves, in context with other relevant evidence, was capable of constituting corroboration. Justice McCarthy stated that the trial court was entitled to proceed on McDonnell's evidence and that the conclusions of fact were not perverse. The appeal was dismissed, leaving the original convictions and sentences intact.
The Court of Appeal has quashed the murder convictions of Matthew Cummins and James Davy, substituting them with convictions for assisting an offender under the Criminal Law Act 1997. In a written judgment, the court found no evidence of a joint enterprise to murder 64-year-old Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley, whose death resulted from eight blows to the head and two to the torso. While the court described the defendants' subsequent conduct—attempting to burn the body and disposing of a baseball bat—as 'reprehensible,' it ruled this did not prove a prior agreement to kill. The appeal court rejected arguments for separate trials, noting the jury was entitled to hear the facts in totality. It determined that the trial judge erred in failing to direct the jury to return not guilty verdicts for murder but found overwhelming evidence of guilt regarding the post-offence conduct. The matter was adjourned and sent back to the Central Criminal Court for sentencing. Seán Davy, who had previously failed in a bid to have his conviction overturned in 2018, remains a convicted person in this case, though the current judgment specifically addresses the substitution of verdicts for Cummins and James Davy.
The Court of Appeal has quashed the murder convictions of Matthew Cummins, Seán Davy, and James Davy regarding the 2014 death of Thomas Dooley in Edenderry, Co Offaly. Presiding with Justices John Edwards and Isobel Kennedy, Court President Justice George Birmingham substituted the verdicts with convictions for impeding the apprehension or prosecution of a person under Section 7(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1997. The court ordered that the men be sent back to the Central Criminal Court for sentencing on these substituted verdicts, with a written judgement expected later. The three men had previously been found guilty of murder by a unanimous jury in 2016 and sentenced to life imprisonment. During the appeal, counsel for Cummins argued that the trial judge failed to properly explain the law regarding joint enterprise and that Cummins should have been directed to plead guilty to impeding. Counsel for James Davy argued that the judge's directions were confusing and that his client's fear constituted a reasonable excuse. The DPP argued that all three men were intrinsically involved in the savage killing. The appeal court accepted the arguments for quashing the murder convictions but substituted them with the lesser offence, leaving the matter for sentencing rather than concluding it.
Noel McKeon, a former security guard, appealed to the Court of Appeal against his 14-year effective jail term for the rape and violent assault of two sex workers. The Central Criminal Court previously heard that McKeon contacted the victims via an escorts website, leading to attacks in June 2016 and February 2018. In the first incident, he assaulted the victim, who escaped by jumping from a window, and then raped her. In the second, he assaulted and raped another woman after she refused condomless sex. McKeon pleaded guilty to sexual assault, assault, robbery, and rape of both women, as well as false imprisonment of the first victim. Justice Tony Hunt imposed consecutive headline sentences of ten years for each victim, applying a four-year discount for the guilty pleas to result in a 16-year term. He suspended the final two years on condition that McKeon engage in sex offender treatment and anger management, specifically regarding violence towards women. McKeon's counsel, Barry White SC, argued that a "crushing sentence" had been imposed and that the totality principle was insufficiently applied. The DPP, represented by John Fitzgerald SC, countered that the effective 14-year sentence was within the margin of appreciation and incentivised rehabilitation. The Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Birmingham, Edwards, and Donnelly, reserved judgment on the appeal.
Jonathan Dargan, a 50‑year‑old martial arts instructor, withdrew his appeal after the Court of Appeal warned that his case was not a 'one‑punch manslaughter'. Dargan had been convicted of the manslaughter of Patrick Mullally, a 56‑year‑old man celebrating his retirement, after a drunken altercation on Harold's Cross Road in March 2016. Dargan struck Mullally with a punch that shattered his jaw and caused a fatal brain injury. He also assaulted Mullally's friend, Shane Cunningham, who was injured. Dargan denied unlawful killing and claimed self‑defence, admitting he had "lashing out" but asserting he was in control. The trial judge, Justice Pauline Codd, imposed a six‑year sentence, suspending the final six months, citing the impulsive nature of the assault. The Court of Appeal's warning that the case was not a simple one‑punch manslaughter led Dargan's counsel to withdraw the appeal. No objection was raised by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In a case heard at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court, a 30‑year‑old man was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with the final three years suspended, for defiling a 14‑year‑old girl and a 16‑year‑old girl at his apartment between 2017 and 2018. He pleaded guilty to the defilements and to two counts of meeting a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Evidence showed he used Snapchat and Instagram to lure the girls with offers of free drugs, including cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine, before defiling them. The older victim reportedly consented to sexual activity. The man's counsel argued the 14‑year headline sentence was too high, citing lack of authority and isolation, while the DPP's counsel maintained the sentence was justified by aggravating factors such as drug use, age disparity, and premeditated social‑media contact. The Court of Appeal will rule on the appeal on Friday.