In March 2021 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of a 34‑year‑old married man convicted of sexual assault. The appellant's lawyers argued that the conviction was "perverse" and that the complainant's evidence was inconsistent, but the three‑judge panel found no basis for overturning the verdict. The complainant, who had known the accused and his partner for years and had lived with them, was at a Dublin house party on 21 June 2015. She later slept in a spare room at the couple's home and claimed the accused lifted the duvet, lay beside her, and inserted his hand and finger under her skirt. He denied wrongdoing, saying he had mistakenly entered the wrong bed. A jury found him guilty in November 2018, and he was sentenced to two‑and‑a‑half years, with the final eighteen months suspended. The appeal on sentence severity remains pending.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by an 81-year-old man against his convictions for raping his wife's sister and indecently assaulting another. The appellant, who cannot be named to protect victims' identities, argued that the passage of time prevented him from mounting a proper defence. He was convicted in 2015 of eight counts of indecent assault against his partner's youngest sister, aged 10 to 13, between 1971 and 1974. In a separate trial, he was convicted of ten counts of indecent assault and three counts of rape against another of his wife's sisters, aged 11 at the start, from 1969 to 1974. In December 2015, he was sentenced to two years for indecent assault and 13 years for rape, with the final three years of the rape sentence suspended. The sentences run concurrently. Defence counsel Michael Bowman SC argued the trial judge should have directed a not guilty verdict due to the inability to counter the complainant's assertions after such a delay. He also contended that amendments to the complainant's interview memo unfairly prevented the appellant from highlighting inconsistencies. The Director of Public Prosecutions, represented by Kerida Naidoo, countered that the delay did not prejudice the appellant and that the memo amendment corrected a garda error without causing unfairness. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, sitting with Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe and President Mr Justice George Birmingham, dismissed the appeal in an ex tempore judgment. The appellant had denied all accusations, which were proven by unanimous jury verdicts at the Central and Circuit Criminal Courts.
In 2021 the Court of Appeal increased the sentence of 51‑year‑old Stephen Joyce, a father of seven from Tallaght, for a 2019 mugging. Joyce had approached a woman alone at a bus stop, asked for a cigarette, then grabbed her bag and threatened her with a knife. A security guard heard the incident, confronted Joyce and called the gardai, who found him still in possession of the victim's items. CCTV identified him and he pleaded guilty to robbery at the Circuit Criminal Court, receiving a 21‑month sentence on 18 June 2020. The Court of Appeal, after hearing from the Director of Public Prosecutions, agreed the sentence was too lenient and raised it to four years, suspending the final six months for two years. The decision was made by Justice Patrick McCarthy, with Justice Aileen Donnelly and Justice Isobel Kennedy present.
Joseph Griffiths, aged 36 and homeless at the time, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Criminal Court to making threats with a syringe under the Non‑Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 after he threatened to stab two Luas security guards with a syringe while claiming he was HIV positive. In July 2019 Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced him to four years in prison, a reduction from the headline five‑year sentence after considering mitigating factors such as his long history of drug abuse and efforts to stop using drugs. Griffith's appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed by Justice Isobel Kennedy, who found no error in the sentencing judge's decision. The appeal was rejected on the basis that the threats were frightening and volatile, and that the victims were strong, well‑prepared men who were not elderly or vulnerable. The Court noted Griffith's 18 previous convictions and upheld the four‑year sentence.
In March 2021, John Roche, a 57‑year‑old barber from Bridgefoot Street, Dublin, lost an appeal against the severity of his seven‑year prison sentence for possessing 152 kg of homemade explosives. The appeal argued that Roche had no prior convictions, was well‑known for charitable work, and had not previously attracted Garda attention. The Court of Appeal upheld the Special Criminal Court's decision, noting that Roche's sentence had been reduced from a headline ten years to seven after considering mitigating factors such as his good record and community standing. The court found no rational basis for suspending any part of Roche's sentence, unlike co‑accused John Brock, whose 18‑month suspended portion was tied to a condition of dissociating from the IRA. John Brock pleaded not guilty.
David Berney, a 39‑year‑old from Tallaght, was convicted of looting a Centra store in Jobstown during Storm Emma in March 2018. He pleaded guilty and received an 18‑month suspended sentence, which the Court of Appeal later deemed unduly lenient. The court set a three‑year term but suspended the entire period, subject to conditions such as maintaining employment and engaging with probation services if he loses his job. The suspension was back‑dated to November 2019. Berney also faced a separate 2014 burglary of a private home, for which he received a two‑year sentence and an additional 18‑month suspended term, contingent on staying out of trouble and participating in addiction and reintegration services. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the original sentence, arguing it was too lenient. The court warned that if Berney fails to stay "on the straight and narrow," he will be sent to prison.
Paul Crosby, 25, of Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, faced a five‑year prison sentence with six months suspended for arson after he and two others jump‑started a stolen Volkswagen Polo, drove it to a field in the Yellowbatter area, and set it on fire. The car, stolen from Dublin and fitted with stolen plates, tax and insurance discs, was valued at €10,000 and was a write‑off. A judge at the Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court reduced the headline seven‑year sentence to five years after taking into account Crosby's early guilty plea. Crosby has 40 prior convictions, including 31 for road traffic offences, four for theft, three for drug‑related offences and two for criminal damage. He was acquitted of an attempted murder charge in February 2019. The Court of Appeal heard that the arson was described as "mysterious" and that the fire was set in a field away from houses and people.
In 2021 a 17‑year‑old pleaded guilty to the murder of Glen "Ossie" Osborne, 20, at Ballybough House, Dublin, on 15 April 2020. The youth was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Paul McDermott, with a review after ten years. The judge cited the defendant's early guilty plea, remorse, and rehabilitation efforts as mitigating factors, but also noted the aggravating factor of the defendant bringing a knife to the scene. Mr Justice McDermott highlighted the defendant's chaotic upbringing, behavioural issues, and lack of judgment. The Court of Appeal, hearing the appeal, was told that the sentencing judge had not fully considered mitigating factors such as the defendant's lack of prior convictions. The appeal seeks a reduction in the severity of the life sentence, arguing that the defendant's remorse and early plea should be given greater weight. The case remains pending review after the ten‑year period. The unnamed 17-year-old was found guilty.
John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty appealed the High Court's refusal to allow them to challenge the constitutionality of Covid‑19 laws and the costs awarded against them. Their judicial review sought to declare measures such as the 2020 Health Preservation and Protection Act and the 2020 Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act unconstitutional, arguing they infringed rights to travel, bodily integrity and the family. The Court of Appeal, led by Justice George Birmingham, dismissed all grounds of appeal. Birmingham said the High Court's approach was correct, noting the applicants had presented "fiction and distortion over fact," lacked substantive evidence, and had made unsubstantiated claims about the pandemic and the laws. The appeal was rejected, and the applicants were ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings. The case remains at the appeal stage.
The Court of Appeal upheld a 12‑year headline sentence for a 52‑year‑old man convicted of 22 counts of sexual abuse, oral rape, child sexual exploitation and attempted rape against his daughter aged 13‑15. The appeal court found no error in the sentencing judge's decision that attempted penetration of the vagina was more serious than oral rape, and rejected the defence's argument that the man had stopped the attempt when the victim screamed. The court also dismissed claims that the trial judge had not given enough credit for the man's alleged stopping of the attempt, and rejected a suggestion that a letter of apology for physical abuse should have been considered mitigating. The 12‑year sentence, with a six‑month suspended portion, was confirmed as within the range of penalties available for the circumstances of ongoing offending, familial violence and the man's taunts after the attempt. The appeal was lost, and the sentence remains in force.
The trial of Lee Canavan (31) has opened at the Special Criminal Court, where he pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Douglas (55), who was shot dead at Shoestown, Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 1, on July 1, 2016. Canavan also denies criminal damage to a vehicle on July 4, 2016. The State alleges Canavan "literally pulled the trigger" in a "meticulously planned assassination," presenting evidence of a semi-automatic pistol found near the victim and linking Canavan to two vehicles via fingerprints and DNA. Prosecutors detailed the movements of four cars used in the offence, including a Mercedes set alight near Carman's Hall and a Suzuki burned on Strand Road. Nathan Foley (22) was previously jailed for six years after pleading guilty to assisting a criminal organisation by driving one of the cars and buying mobile phones. Frederick 'Fat Freddie' Thompson was jailed for life by the Special Criminal Court for the murder; however, his defence counsel noted a live appeal is currently pending in Thompson's case. The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Michael McGrath, Ms Justice Sinead Ní Chúlacháin, and Mr Justice Dermot Dempsey, is scheduled to last four weeks.
David Berney, a convicted burglar from Tallaght, was found guilty in 2018 of looting a Centra store in Jobstown during Storm Emma. He had previously pleaded guilty to a 2014 burglary of a private home. At the Circuit Court, a two‑year sentence was imposed for the 2014 offence and an additional 18‑month term for the 2018 looting, which was suspended on the condition that he remain law‑abiding and engage with addiction and social reintegration services. The Court of Appeal, after reviewing positive probation reports, deemed the original sentence unduly lenient but chose to increase the suspended portion rather than impose further custodial time. Berney, who could not attend the appeal hearing because he was starting a plumbing apprenticeship, will receive a new sentencing date at a later time. The appeal was brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions, who argued that Berney's prior conviction and bail status warranted a harsher penalty.
An unnamed 32-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, has appealed the severity of her sentence following a conviction for sexual assault and child cruelty. The appellant was convicted by a Circuit Criminal Court jury of ten counts of sexual assault under section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1990 and one count of child cruelty. The offences, which occurred between September 2011 and September 2013, involved the abuse of her step-son, who was four years old at the time. The trial heard that the appellant, who was male at birth and later transitioned, acted as a step-father and subjected the boy to physical and sexual abuse, including threats to break his limbs. On December 9, 2019, the sentencing judge imposed a term of six years and six months imprisonment, with the final six months suspended. In the Court of Appeal, counsel Roderick O'Hanlon SC argued that the sentencing judge failed to adequately consider the difficulties the appellant would face in a women's prison due to her transgender status. He further contended that a greater portion of the sentence should have been suspended to facilitate rehabilitation. The appeal was heard by President Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy. The court reserved its judgment on the sentence appeal, meaning the matter was adjourned and not concluded.
In 2021, a woman who had married a man in the 1990s and later separated sought annulment of the marriage in the High Court, claiming she had been coerced and that her husband was gay or bisexual, thereby lacking capacity to marry. The High Court dismissed her petition in 2019 due to insufficient evidence. She appealed to the Court of Appeal, alleging unfair trial and bias, but the appeal was dismissed entirely. The Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Costello, Haughton and Binchy, found no evidence that the marriage was entered into under duress or that the husband was homosexual. The court noted the woman's evidence was limited to a friend's remark and a teenage photograph, which could not establish sexuality. All other grounds, including claims of mental illness and judicial bias, were rejected, and the man was awarded legal costs.
In 2019, an 86‑year‑old retired doctor was convicted at the Circuit Criminal Court of 12 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault, all committed during medical examinations from 1971 onward. He was sentenced to four years for one indecent assault count and 18 months for the remaining counts, with all sentences concurrent. The judge had originally suggested that the fact there were seven independent complainants was "compelling" evidence, a point the doctor's lawyers challenged in an appeal. The Court of Appeal rejected 17 grounds of appeal, including arguments that the trial judge should have ended the trial when evidence emerged that the doctor had been struck off the medical register, a civil action had been settled, and an earlier criminal trial had occurred. The court found no substance in these claims and upheld the conviction and sentence. The doctor's lawyers subsequently filed a notice of abandonment, withdrawing the appeal against the sentence. The unnamed 86-year-old pleaded not guilty.
Tomas Mikalajunas, 41, a Lithuanian national, was sentenced by the Court of Appeal to two years and nine months in prison for two burglaries and one criminal damage charge. He had originally received a suspended five‑year, six‑month sentence after a 2016 incident in which a Garda's accidental gun discharge left him with life‑changing injuries, including difficulty speaking and eating. The burglaries involved a pharmacy in Kinsale (January 2015) where €60,000 of high‑end perfumes were stolen, and a boutique in Adare (2016) where €80,000 of clothing was taken. The Court of Appeal found the original sentence unduly lenient and imposed the new term, with no portion suspended, while also imposing a concurrent two‑year sentence for criminal damage. Mikalajunas was present via video link from Lithuania. Tomas Mikalajunas pleaded guilty.
A 67‑year‑old man, described as a "man of some standing" in his community, lost an appeal against a 2017 conviction for repeated rape and sexual assault of a friend's daughter aged 12 to 14 between 1991 and 1992. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no unfairness in the trial judge's rulings, including the allowance of a majority verdict and late changes to the indictment dates. The jury had convicted the man on six counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of oral rape and one count of attempted oral rape, while he was acquitted of 16 other counts. Sentencing, delivered by Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, imposed a nine‑year term with the final 12 months suspended on conditions. The victim, who has suffered ongoing psychological trauma, was not named to protect her identity. The appeal was dismissed by Mr Justice George Birmingham, joined by Mr Justice Brian Murray and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of an unnamed 44-year-old man who was found guilty of sexually abusing his step-daughter. The appellant, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in January 2019 following a Central Criminal Court trial. A jury found him guilty of 13 counts of rape, three counts of defilement, and one count of sexual exploitation of a child, relating to abuse alleged to have occurred between 2010 and 2017. In his appeal, counsel Donal Colgan SC argued that a voluntary interview given to gardai should not have been admitted, claiming the appellant had poor English and did not understand the role of a solicitor. He also challenged the admission of a statement from the appellant's wife. However, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, delivering the judgment for the three-judge panel, rejected these arguments. He noted that the appellant had the benefit of an interpreter, was informed of his right to leave and to legal representation, and that the gardai behaved in an exemplary manner. The court also found that the trial judge correctly exercised discretion in allowing the wife's statement to be read to the jury. The appeal was dismissed, and the original conviction and sentence stand.
In a 2021 Court of Appeal decision, the court upheld a trial judge's decision to allow an FBI agent and two Gardaí from the National Surveillance Unit to give evidence anonymously in an explosives conspiracy case. The case involved Thomas Bates, who had received inert hand grenades, a decommissioned Glock pistol and dummy ammunition after an FBI agent uncovered a Darknet plot. Bates was convicted of conspiracy to possess firearms, ammunition and explosives between 24 October and 10 November 2017. Judge Thomas Teehan sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment, with the final year suspended. The appeal argued that anonymity violated statutory requirements, but the Court of Appeal found no legal basis to prohibit anonymous testimony and concluded the trial was fair. The decision clarified that a judge may permit witnesses to use initials or pseudonyms without compromising the accused's right to a fair trial.
In a 2021 Court of Appeal decision, the Special Criminal Court was affirmed as having the authority to rely on the belief evidence of Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony Howard in convicting Conor Metcalfe, a 30‑year‑old from Clondalkin, of IRA membership. Howard had claimed privilege over the material used to form his opinion, citing state security concerns. The conviction was based on Metcalfe's refusal to answer numerous material questions during a Garda interview under Section 2 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows courts to draw inferences from such refusals. The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's reliance on these inferences, finding no procedural unfairness. Metcalfe was sentenced to four years and six months' imprisonment, backdated to his arrest in December 2018, after the Special Criminal Court had imposed a headline sentence of five years for the offence of membership in an unlawful organisation.
Naoufal Fassih, a Dutch gang leader with alleged links to the Kinahan cartel, has appealed a High Court decision permitting his trial in the Netherlands for murder and incitement to murder. Fassih, a 40-year-old Dutch citizen of Moroccan origin, was surrendered to Dutch authorities in 2017 under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for alleged attempted murder, assault, possession of false documents, and money laundering. He was subsequently convicted in the Netherlands of all these charges and sentenced to 18 years in prison. In 2020, Dutch authorities sought Irish permission to prosecute him for further murder-related offences. The High Court granted this permission in July last year. However, counsel for Fassih argued before the Court of Appeal that the original EAW was issued by a Dutch public prosecutor, which the Court of Justice of the European Union later ruled is not a recognised "judicial authority." Consequently, they contended the High Court lacked the legal basis to allow further prosecution. Counsel for the Minister for Justice countered that if this argument succeeded, it would cast doubt on all surrenders to the Netherlands between 2003 and 2019. The three-judge Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, reserved its judgment, noting it had "quite an amount to consider." The matter remains adjourned pending the court's decision.
The 52‑year‑old father was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury of 22 counts of sexual abuse, oral rape, child sexual exploitation and attempted rape between October 2009 and July 2011, when his daughter was aged 13 to 15. He denied sexual abuse but admitted physical abuse, especially towards the mother. On 14 January 2019 he was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment, with the final six months suspended. He appealed, arguing the case was exceptional because the daughter claimed no visible implants in his penis, while he had implants. The Court of Appeal found the daughter could not have noticed the difference. His barrister argued the 12‑year sentence for attempted vaginal rape was excessive compared with the ten‑year sentence for oral rape, citing the lack of penetration and his apology to the family. The appeal was dismissed, and the sentence was upheld. The father has not expressed remorse.
A 60‑year‑old former Garda, whose name is withheld to protect the victim, has appealed his conviction for sexually assaulting an 11‑year‑old girl and for possession of child pornography. He will be released from custody on Friday after serving a three‑year sentence. In the Court of Appeal he argued that the child‑pornography evidence should not have been tried alongside the assault charge and that the three‑year post‑release supervision was disproportionate. His counsel said the DVD was unrelated to the assault and that it had been created at least eight years earlier. The Director of Public Prosecutions countered that both offences were sexual and involved children, justifying joint trial. The court has reserved judgment.
Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe sat on a Court of Appeal panel with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy on 15 February 2021, the first time he had appeared as a judge since a November 2020 letter from Chief Justice Frank Clarke barred him from sitting until February 2021 due to his attendance at a golf event that breached Covid‑19 guidelines. The panel heard no cases that day; the judges were present via remote video links. Woulfe had previously complained that a meeting on 2 October 2020 with Birmingham and two other senior judges had been "upsetting and traumatic," claiming they had pre‑judged him before he could explain himself. He said the stress from that meeting caused a serious medical condition, preventing him from attending a subsequent meeting with Clarke.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a trial judge erred in directing the acquittal of an unnamed 60-year-old woman and a younger male accused of falsely imprisoning a teenage boy on September 14, 2015. The woman faced one count of false imprisonment, while the younger accused faced two counts. Although the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the acquittal and sought a retrial, the three-judge panel, led by Mr Justice Brian Murray, refused to order a new trial. The court determined that it would not be in the interests of justice to proceed, citing that a third trial would occur six years after the alleged incident. A key factor was the younger accused's subsequent conviction for a separate crime, which the court found would impair his ability to defend himself by introducing evidence of the alleged injured party's prior offending. Additionally, the alleged injured party's reluctance to give evidence, having previously stated he was in fear for his life, contributed to the decision. The appeal court concluded that while the trial judge was wrong to direct a not-guilty verdict before jury deliberations, the combination of these factors rendered a retrial inappropriate.
A woman accused of murdering a two‑year‑old in the south of Ireland had her name anonymised by the Central Criminal Court following a Court of Appeal ruling. The case was scheduled for trial on Monday but was postponed due to Covid‑19 restrictions on jury swearing. The trial will be rescheduled for June 10. The accused, who is on bail, cannot be named to protect the identity of the deceased child. Brendan Grehan SC argued for anonymisation under Section 252 of the Children's Act, and Justice Michael White agreed.
In 2015 a 16‑year‑old filmed a 12‑year‑old girl performing oral sex on him while friends photographed the act. He later threatened to send the footage to the girl's sport club if she refused to perform oral sex on a younger friend. The teenager pleaded guilty in June 2019 to two counts of defilement of a child under 15 and was sentenced to four years in prison. A Court of Appeal report noted he denied responsibility, claimed the victim consented, and engaged in a "victim blaming narrative." The appeal was dismissed; the judge upheld a headline sentence of eight years, applying a 50 % discount for his guilty plea and young age. The case involved the victim's distress and the threat to expose the footage to her sporting club. The court did not alter the sentence or add further penalties.
In a written ruling on 8 February 2021, the Court of Appeal, comprising Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, set out a sentencing framework for witness intimidation. The court identified a low, middle and upper range of seriousness. The maximum sentence is 15 years. For the upper range, judges should consider 10 to 15 years when there is evidence of serious or ongoing harm to the victim, involvement of two or more persons, organised crime, a sustained campaign, or accompanying offences such as false imprisonment, or when there is potential for serious harm to the administration of justice. The middle range, 5 to 10 years, applies where there is evidence of planning, the offence occurs at the victim's home, work or place of study, or is accompanied by criminal damage, threats of violence, actual violence or a weapon, or where harm is caused to the victim or the criminal justice process.
Derek Lennon, aged 34, of Neagh Road, Terenure, Dublin 6, had his prison sentence increased by 18 months by the Court of Appeal after a violent assault on State witness Niall Fitzgerald. Lennon had 72 prior convictions, including robbery, arson, assault and assault causing harm. In March 2016 he was convicted of dangerous driving for a motorbike crash, banned from driving for six years and sentenced to 90 hours community service. In 2018, after Fitzgerald was called to testify again, Lennon intimidated him, threatened to kill him, and attacked him with a plank of wood, leaving a permanent scar and dental damage. Lennon pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation, criminal damage to CCTV cameras, assault causing harm, production of a length of wood and threatening to kill. Judge Martin Nolan originally sentenced him to four and a half years.
In 2019, John McDonagh, aged 31, was jailed for a violent assault on Saurjan Syergaz in Dublin. McDonagh, who had over 80 convictions, punched and kicked Syergaz after the victim had intervened in a dispute between McDonagh and his partner, Donna Dineen. McDonagh walked away before Dineen slashed Syergaz with a knife and stole his wallet. The Court of Appeal reduced McDonagh's original three‑year sentence to two years and six months, suspending the final three months. The judges noted that McDonagh was not responsible for the stabbing, had only engaged in punching and kicking, and had retreated when the assault escalated. They also cited evidence of his rehabilitation efforts and a positive letter from a priest. Dineen, who had also been convicted, was jailed for four years for assault and robbery. The case highlights the court's consideration of culpability and rehabilitation in sentencing.
Ciaran Long, 37, of Barntown, Co. Wexford, pleaded guilty to possessing €201,000 in proceeds of criminal conduct under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act 2010. He was found to have acted as a "drugs mule," collecting money for a gang and handing it to an unnamed recipient. The original sentence was a four‑year headline with a two‑and‑a‑half‑year fully suspended term, reduced by 18 months for mitigating factors such as no prior convictions and an apology. The Court of Appeal deemed the sentence too lenient, re‑sentencing Long to a six‑year headline and a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended term. He must report to Wexford Garda station on 18 February to begin his jail term. The decision reflects the seriousness of the offence and the role Long played in the gang's cash handling.
The Court of Appeal has requested written submissions from the prosecution and defence on whether David O'Loughlin, 33, had the intent required for murder when he threw Liam Manley, a vulnerable homeless man with an alcohol dependency, down a 40‑ft rubbish chute. O'Loughlin was convicted of murder in 2013 and retried in 2019 after his first conviction was overturned because the jury had visited the chute and possibly thrown a stone down it. The appeal concerns whether the jury should have been discharged for visiting the chute. O'Loughlin's counsel argues the act was intended to give a "soft landing" and that the chute's blockage made it a death trap, suggesting manslaughter rather than murder. The DPP maintains that O'Loughlin was aware of the chute's danger and that his actions contributed significantly to Manley's death. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment.
Samantha Sinnott, a 41‑year‑old midwife from Hilltown, Ballymitty, pleaded guilty in 2019 to concealing €109,890 she knew was the proceeds of crime. She moved the money from her partner's house to her own home after hearing that men had been arrested in Wexford. Sinnott admitted to emptying a safe in a concrete floor, taking the cash in two bags, and later confiding in Gardaí, claiming she believed the money belonged to her partner and that she acted to protect him. She entered an early guilty plea and cooperated with officers. The Court of Appeal upheld her 12‑month suspended sentence, finding her actions were a sudden, unpremeditated error of judgment and that she was a generally law‑abiding citizen with no prior convictions. The appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions was dismissed, and Sinnott's subsequent High Court challenge against her dismissal from Wexford General Hospital is noted but not resolved in this article.
A 37‑year‑old man, whose identity is withheld to protect the victim, was convicted of one count of rape and two additional rape charges that were not upheld. He had previously been tried twice, with the first jury deadlocked and the second verdict overturned by the Court of Appeal. In his third trial at the Central Criminal Court in February 2019, the jury found him guilty of the single rape charge. He was sentenced on 9 May 2019 to twelve years' imprisonment, with six years of post‑release supervision. The Court of Appeal rejected his appeal, ruling that the trial judge had correctly warned the jury that evidence of the victim's distress could be strong corroboration of a rape claim. The case involved an assault that began with physical and verbal abuse, followed by the victim's escape after a fire alarm was triggered.
In February 2021 the Court of Appeal increased Bernard Joyce's sentence for possessing €911,600, the proceeds of criminal conduct, by one year. Joyce, 45, had been found with the cash concealed in a camper van in Foulksmills, Co. Wexford, wrapped in onions to avoid detection by a sniffer dog. He pleaded guilty at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court. The Court of Appeal agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions that the original three‑year sentence was unduly lenient, citing the amount of cash, its concealment and Joyce's attempt to flee. The judges accepted the headline sentence of seven years but, after accounting for time already served, imposed an actual custodial term of four years. Joyce was ordered to report to Wexford Garda station on 19 February.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal by Deirdre Dennis, who sought to annul her bankruptcy. Ms Dennis, represented by solicitor Evan O'Dwyer, argued that the High Court erred in refusing her application, claiming she was forced into bankruptcy due to Bank of Ireland (BOI) overcharging her on mortgage repayments. BOI, which was not a party to the proceedings, later admitted it failed to provide a tracker rate when Ms Dennis was entitled to one. The bank unreservedly apologised, withdrew its claim for €115,000, and acknowledged its error contributed to Ms Dennis losing her family home in Killala, Co Mayo. Ms Dennis was discharged from bankruptcy in 2018. In the High Court, Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington ruled that the reasons for setting aside the bankruptcy were outside the court's jurisdiction. On appeal, a three-judge panel comprising Ms Justice Caroline Costello, Mr Justice Brian Murray, and Mr Justice Donald Binchy, dismissed the case. Ms Justice Costello stated that while the court has discretion to annul bankruptcy, it requires extremely compelling reasons. The court found that even allowing for BOI's overstated liabilities, Ms Dennis was clearly insolvent in October 2017. The judges rejected the argument that she could have met repayments had they been correctly calculated, noting she would not have been able to do so. The court concluded it would not be just and equitable to annul the adjudication, emphasizing the collective nature of insolvency proceedings and the implications for all creditors.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by David O'Brien, a former scout leader, against the severity of his sentence. In 2018, O'Brien was convicted of indecent assault on four boys and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, with 16 months suspended on condition of Probation Service supervision. This followed a 2015 conviction for abusing six other boys, resulting in a combined total of 14 years' imprisonment with three years suspended. O'Brien's counsel argued that the cumulative sentence was excessive given the offences occurred in the same period and that O'Brien had previously admitted to abusing 30 to 40 boys. However, the three-judge panel, presided over by Mr Justice Edwards, found no error in principle, noting that the sentencing judge had conscientiously considered the aggravating factor of a serious breach of trust by a person in authority. The court stated that a net sentence of 11 years could easily have been justified. During the hearing, O'Brien called on gardai to identify his remaining victims so he could address them under the Criminal Justice Act, though the court noted this was not a matter for the appeal. The appeal was rejected, leaving the original 2018 sentence intact.
In a case heard by the Court of Appeal, Dung Tran, a 41‑year‑old Vietnamese man who had arrived in Ireland at 18 and was an Irish citizen, was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment for possessing €480,000 worth of cannabis. The original sentence, handed down by Kilkenny Circuit Court in May 2020, had two years suspended. Tran was caught on 6 February 2019 when Gardaí stopped his black Mercedes in Rathcash, Co. Kilkenny, after it was observed overtaking at about 160 kph. Gardaí noted a strong smell of cannabis, searched the vehicle and found six black refuse sacks in the boot containing vacuum‑packed cannabis. Tran pleaded guilty, cooperated fully, had no prior convictions, and had not applied for bail. He had lost his job before Christmas 2019 and had three children. The Court of Appeal, hearing arguments from Mr Séamus Clarke SC and Mr David Humphries BL, found that the 12‑year sentence was excessive.
A garda who pleaded guilty to causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving has been jailed following a successful appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Patrick McDonnell, aged 42, with an address in County Galway, was originally sentenced to two years suspended at Trim Circuit Court in June 2020 for the death of Jacqueline Wolohan on the M4 near Kinnegad, Westmeath, on 13 February 2016. The Court of Appeal found the original sentence unduly lenient and imposed two-and-a-half years imprisonment, with the final year suspended for two years. The three-judge court accepted that the trial judge had placed disproportionate weight on McDonnell's character and previous record while insufficiently regarding the speed of his vehicle, recorded at approximately 140 kilometres per hour, and his departure from the scene. Ms Wolohan, aged 51 from Dublin, was returning from Longford when struck from behind. McDonnell, an 18-year garda, is subject to summary dismissal proceedings.
Imre Arakas, 62, an Estonian hitman jailed by the Special Criminal Court for six years in December 2018, is set to file a bid to halt his surrender to Lithuania on March 23. He was convicted for conspiring to murder James Gately in Northern Ireland on 3–4 April 2017, a plot carried out by the Kinahan cartel. Lithuanian authorities seek his extradition over the murder of a man who had an affair with pop star Vita Jakutiene, along with firearms, conspiracy and criminal damage charges. Arakas was arrested in Dublin in February 2018 under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Lithuania. His extradition hearing is scheduled for March 23, but the High Court may defer it pending the outcome of an appeal in a separate extradition case involving Liam Campbell. The hearing is expected to last a full day. The case is listed for mention on March 15. Imre Arakas pleaded guilty.
In 2014 a 47‑year‑old man was convicted of eight sexual assault offences, including three oral rapes and one rape, against his partner's daughter aged six at the start of the abuse. He received a 12‑year prison sentence. The case involved uncorroborated evidence, such as text messages sent while he was in hospital after a paracetamol overdose, which he later denied. The victim, who was 17 at trial, had previously reported abuse to Gardaí with her grandmother in 2003 but withdrew the complaint. She later wrote a letter to a social worker in 2008 detailing escalating abuse that culminated in rape. At the appeal hearing, counsel argued that the trial judge's warning to the jury about the dangers of convicting on uncorroborated evidence was insufficient and that the jury may have been misled. The appeal remains pending.
An appeal is ongoing regarding the sentence imposed on Derek Lennon (34) of Neagh Road, Terenure, Dublin 6, who was found guilty of dangerous driving following a District Court trial in March 2016. Lennon was banned from driving for six years and sentenced to 90 hours community service. In 2018, Lennon intimidated Niall Fitzgerald, a State witness in the road traffic case, to such an extent that Fitzgerald was too afraid to go to court. Subsequently, Lennon attacked Fitzgerald at his home, using a plank of wood and punching him. Lennon pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of intimidation, criminal damage to two CCTV cameras at the victim's home, assault causing harm, production of a length of wood, and threatening to kill or cause serious harm. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison by Judge Martin Nolan. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is appealing the sentence, arguing that it was unduly lenient and did not reflect the gravity of the offences. Counsel for the DPP, Tony McGillicuddy BL, stated that the trial judge had identified a headline sentence of between six and seven years imprisonment. He argued that the sentence imposed on Lennon failed to reflect the seriousness of the offences and that the trial judge should have imposed separate sentences for the witness intimidation charges. The matter is currently before the Court of Appeal, with the court reserving its judgment.
An Afghani man, Akbar Jafari, aged 35, was originally given a fully suspended two‑year sentence for conspiring to produce 14 fake identity documents for family members who wanted to enter Europe. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court between 2 and 17 January 2017. The Court of Appeal, comprising Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and Mr Justice George Birmingham, found the original sentence unduly lenient and quashed it. They imposed a two‑year jail term with the second year suspended, conditional on Jafari entering a bond for good behaviour. He will serve one year in prison, may complete an educational course before sentencing, and must attend court on 8 June when the sentence commences. Jafari had been granted refugee status after arriving from Afghanistan in 2007.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a €1,500 fine was too lenient for Senan O'Flaherty, a 64-year-old truck driver who pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death and careless driving causing serious bodily harm. The incident, which occurred on the N85 in March 2017, resulted in the death of three-year-old Estlin Wall and serious injuries to her father, Vincent Wall. While the trial judge had fined O'Flaherty €750 per charge and imposed a four-year driving ban, the appellate court found that the lower culpability assessment was erroneous. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy stated that O'Flaherty's blameworthiness was at the upper end of the scale, noting witnesses observed unusual features in his driving, including crossing the median line to check for overtaking opportunities. The court upheld the €1,500 fine and the four-year driving ban. However, it imposed a 16-month custodial sentence, which was suspended in full on the condition that O'Flaherty be of good behaviour for two years. O'Flaherty entered into the bond for good behaviour and has already paid the fine. The court expressed its sympathies to the Wall family for their loss.
A bus driver has appealed his conviction for careless driving causing death, challenging the trial judge's instructions to the jury on legal terminology. Osborn Irabor, aged 60 of French Park, Dublin, was convicted in 2018 at the Circuit Criminal Court in connection with the death of a cyclist on November 17, 2014. During jury deliberations, jurors requested clarification of legal principles in layman's terms, but the judge subsequently re-charged them using formal legal language including words such as "appreciable" and "due care and attention." At the Court of Appeal, Irabor's counsel argued this approach may have caused jury confusion and questioned what conduct demonstrated a fall below the standard expected of a competent driver. The three-judge panel, presiding over the appeal, reserved judgment. At sentencing in 2018, the trial judge imposed a mandatory four-year driving ban, finding imprisonment unjustified despite the serious nature of the offence. The judge noted Irabor's unblemished safety record and absence of previous convictions.
In a case heard by the Court of Appeal, the Director of Public Prosecutions argued that the €1,500 fine imposed on truck driver Senan O'Flaherty for careless driving that caused the death of a three‑year‑old girl should have been a prison sentence. The DPP contended that the fine sent a message that careless driving could go unpunished. O'Flaherty, who pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death and serious bodily harm, had been fined €750 for each charge and banned from driving for four years. The appeal court was urged to impose at least a suspended prison sentence to deter similar conduct. The court's judgment was scheduled for the following day. The case involved a fatal collision on 15 March 2017, when a Skoda Fabia driven by Estlin Wall lost control and collided with an oncoming vehicle, killing her and seriously injuring her father.
In 2015, Christopher McDonald, 36, was convicted of murdering Keith Walker, 36, at the Blanchardstown Pigeon Racing Club. McDonald was found wearing a black wig and a transparent latex glove, and a 9mm Makarov sub‑machine gun was recovered in a handbag near the club. CCTV showed a person pulling a gun from a handbag and firing 18 shots at Walker, who died from head and body wounds. McDonald was found guilty by a unanimous jury at the Central Criminal Court in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment. His lawyers now appeal to the Court of Appeal, arguing that DNA swabs were taken before he received adequate legal advice and that the jury was prejudiced by hearing McDonald's remark to the arresting sergeant. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment. Christopher McDonald pleaded not guilty.
During an appeal hearing, Edmund Dunican (47) admitted to one count of carrying an imitation firearm with criminal intent at Smithfield on December 20, 2018. The charges relate to an incident where Dunican held up a judge, a barrister, and his estranged wife with a fake pistol and a hoax pipe bomb during a 'terrifying' siege in a Dublin court. Dunican, a fitter by trade, made the fake bomb at home. The judge in the courtroom refused to leave when Dunican told her she could go, instead repeatedly appealing to him to drop the gun and helping the other two women. The 17-minute siege ended after an armed garda negotiator persuaded Dunican to surrender the gun and let the women go. Dunican pleaded guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. Dunican has no previous convictions. Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the matter to next Tuesday, January 26, for sentencing.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that an accused person has no automatic entitlement to be questioned in custody by gardai before trial. The judgment arose from a case at Longford Circuit Criminal Court involving a man charged with endangerment of pedestrians in connection with driving offences from December 2016. The trial judge had directed an acquittal, finding that the failure to interview the accused violated his right to fair procedure by forcing him to give evidence if he wished to present a defence. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the acquittal. President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, found the trial judge was in error. The court held that while an accused may respond when charged and present his version of events at trial through cross-examination or testimony, he has no entitlement to be detained and questioned, nor to have such an account protected from challenge. The appellate court concluded the acquittal direction was incorrect in law.
The Court of Appeal has adjourned the sentencing appeal of Dessie O'Hare, a former INLA member known as "The Border Fox." Mr Justice George Birmingham agreed to the adjournment, noting there is "no particular urgency" as O'Hare's sentence is not due to expire soon. The judge stated he "wouldn't expect an early release" even if the appeal succeeded. 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 also considered two counts of falsely imprisoning Mr Byrne's wife and son. O'Hare received three years for the assault and ten years for the false imprisonment, with the final three years suspended for life; the sentences run concurrently. The judge noted O'Hare's threat to society had not abated. A previous appeal hearing was adjourned after O'Hare dismissed his lawyers. He is currently unable to consult his legal team while in prison. O'Hare previously served 40 years for the 1987 kidnapping of Dr John O'Grady, from which he was released in 2006 under the Good Friday Agreement.