Killian Flood BL

The Supreme Court has held that the conviction of a mentally ill man for the murder of his infant son in 2001 was a miscarriage of justice. The man had previously spent 16 years in an Irish prison before being officially diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The man was subsequently found not guilt

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a convicted sexual offender to halt further trials for sexual offences on the grounds of undue delay. The applicant was charged with 270 counts relating to sexual abuse of minors which allegedly occurred between 1978 and 1993. Delivering judgment in the

The High Court has granted an injunction to place a stay on the criminal prosecution of a hemp retailer until the conclusion of separate proceedings challenging Irish laws relating to the importation of CBD products. It was argued that the products in question had no psychoactive aspect and were not

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the use of CCTV security footage to investigate an employee discipline issue was unlawful because the footage was collected and processed for the specific purpose of security. It was held that this difference in purpose was in contravention to the Data Protection A

The Supreme Court has upheld a conviction of sexual assault against a 14-year-old boy who smacked the bare bottom of a six-year-old child. The court held that the assault involved an element of indecency which justified the conviction of sexual assault as distinct from mere assault. Delivering the m

The Court of Appeal has dismissed two appeals brought by men convicted of an “appalling act of savagery and ferocity” which left a man with severe brain injuries. The men both received seven-year-and-six-month sentences, although one man had the final 24 months of his sentence suspended.

The High Court has quashed a decision by the Minister for Justice and Equality to revoke the EU residency status of Georgian man on the basis that no oral hearing of the application took place. The Minister had determined that the applicant had engaged in a marriage of convenience for immigration pu

The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of a man accused of sexually assaulting his daughter in bed after the trial judge failed to adequately address the jury on whether the man was awake at the time of the offending. It was argued by the man that no assault occurred, but that if it did occu

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was not liable for injuries sustained by a plaintiff after she lost control of her car. The plaintiff alleged that she crashed her car due to an oil spill on the road caused by the negligent use of an unidentified vehicle. Deliv

The High Court has criticised the wording of the Adoption Act 2010, stating that the terms used “needlessly hurt the feelings of people” involved in the adoption process. The comments came as the court was ruling on an adoption application for a child who had been in foster care since he

The High Court has ruled that a gin distiller who produced hand sanitiser during the beginning of the Covid pandemic had a legitimate expectation that the product would be free from excise duty. The court held that there was an implied representation by the Revenue Commissioners that no excise duty

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal brought by a man seeking to avoid surrender to Lithuania on foot of a European arrest warrant. It was alleged that the appellant acquired and smuggled firearms from Lithuania into Ireland for the Real Irish Republican Army. The appellant argued that his surr

The Court of Appeal has extended a special care order for a vulnerable child in circumstances where there was no available stepdown facility for the child to return to the community. It was held that difficulties with such placements were a “long-term problem” in the State. Delivering ju

The High Court has refused to set aside third-party proceedings in personal injuries proceedings where it was claimed that the defendant had delayed by two years in joining the third party. The court determined that the defendant had acted reasonably by waiting for replies to particulars and gatheri

The Supreme Court has ruled that the President of Ireland is immune from requests for information and documents pursuant to the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014. It was held that the President’s office did not fall within Article 2(2) of the