Róise Connolly

A man who was given a five-year custodial sentence for assault causing serious harm has had his sentence reduced on appeal to just over two years in custody. Mr Justice George Birmingham, president of the Court of Appeal, said it was appropriate to take into consideration the Fitzgibbon sentencing g

The first person to die in John St. John Long’s care was Ms Catherine Cashin. Ms Cashin was 24 years old when she arrived in London in August 1830 with her mother, Lady Cashin, and younger sister, Ellen. Lady Cashin went to Long seeking a cure for Ellen who was reported to have tuberculosis; h

The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, has determined that a hospital can proceed with intensive curative intent treatment recommended by the consultant oncologist in charge of treating a five-year-old boy with very high-risk neuroblastoma. Describing the case as “harrow

A man who complained of “widespread establishment bias” against him has lost an appeal against the refusal to grant him leave to bring judicial review proceedings against the Director of Public Prosecutions and a District Court judge. Upholding the High Court’s decision, Mr Justice

A man who was given a custodial sentence of three-and-a-half years for burglarising an elderly man's home, during which he said “it’s alright Sir, I’m a Garda”, has lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence. Finding no error in principle, Mr Justice John Edwards sai

A man who was found guilty of raping his wife has had his custodial sentence increased from three years to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment in the Court of Appeal. Finding that the sentencing judge had not adequately assessed the gravity of the offending conduct, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said th

A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for the murder of a 55-year-old man who he described as being “kind to everyone” and someone who would “give you his last penny if he had it”. Considering the appropriate tariff after mitigation to be one of 15 ye

Lawyers in the post-truth era can "enable journalists under attack to fight back and win", according to the senior barrister who helped deliver a court victory for two Northern Ireland journalists. Barry MacDonald QC, part of the legal team for Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, spoke at the fifth a

The murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was followed by "nothing less than an assault on the rule of law and the very fabric of a democratic society", a senior barrister has said.

The issue of liability in a personal injuries case against Sligo County Council has been directed for rehearing in the High Court. Finding that the trial judge had made a number of errors in concluding that the Council was liable for the accident which occurred on the front porch of a property owned

The High Court has refused an application made by Cork County Council in which it sought an order to direct a property arbitrator to state a case regarding his jurisdiction. The property arbitrator was nominated to hear a dispute over compensation for land acquired by a compulsory purchase order; ho

The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) has said that the Good Friday Agreement does not override UK nationality law conferring British citizenship on people born in Northern Ireland. Allowing the appeal brought by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Tribunal said that th

Clare County Council has been granted a permanent injunction restraining a couple and their family from trespassing on a housing estate where they had previously held a tenancy. The family had lived on the site for over 14 years before being victims of an arson attack, and the Council had promised t

The Minister for Health has lost his application to have proceedings challenging proposed new pharmacy rules split into two separate hearings. Refusing the application, Mr Justice Anthony Barr said splitting the trial was likely to raise the overall costs of the action and that it important not to d

Social media is replete with various examples of quackery; from detox teas and bee-sting facials, to more sinister bleach therapies and cancer cures. Far from being a novel issue, quackery in Ireland has a long history, and many of us who have grown up in rural areas have heard stories of people who