Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy to be sentenced today

Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy was convicted of failing to furnish tax returns between 1996-2004, while he was farming and dealing in the lucrative cattle trade.

Last year, the court heard he traded over €370,000 worth of cattle in five years and was paid over €100,000 in farm grants over eight years.

His prosecution opened a political row over the use of the juryless court in a tax evasion case.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said it was “extraordinary a case involving a failure to complete tax returns is heard before a non-jury court” and said citizens had the “right to be judged by a jury of their peers”.