Tag Archives: Mr Justice Seán Ryan

A BAREFIELD man jailed for life for the murder of a young man over three years ago has moved to appeal his conviction, claiming the prosecution ought to have proved that he did not have diminished responsibility at the time. Joe Heffernan (aged 35), of Cappagh Beg, Barefield pleaded not guilty to the murder of Eoin Ryan (21) at Cappagh Beg on June 7, 2011. He was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court and was given the mandatory life sentence by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy on July 3, 2013. During the trial two 999 calls were played to the jury, who were also given transcripts of the calls. “Hello. This is Joe Heffernan. I’m after killing a man,” the caller told Garda Claire O’Shaughnessy, who identified her voice on the first recording. “He came onto me and I killed him. I’m not gay or nothing you know,” he said. “I’m going to kill myself. I’m not …

A 71-year-old man has been returned to prison for one year following a finding by the Court of Appeal that his two-year prison sentence for indecently assaulting two boys in the 1980s was too lenient. However, in its decision delivered today (Tuesday), the court found that the maximum penalty for indecently assaulting a male in the 1980s was two years in prison and not 10, as had been suggested. James (Tony) Maher of Clonroad Beg, Ennis, had pleaded guilty to 18 sample counts of indecently assaulting two boys in the county between January 1982 and April 1985. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently by Judge Carroll Moran at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on January 14 2013. The Director of Public Prosecutions successfully applied for a review of Maher’s sentence on grounds that it was unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal agreed and increased Maher’s sentence by one year. President of the Court of …