Latest news with #RemyFarrell
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Defence Forces concerned about sensitive information being revealed at inquest of Private Seán Rooney
The Defence Forces have requested that parts of an inquest into the death of Pte Seán Rooney be held in private after disclosing 'extremely sensitive' information to the coroner. A preliminary hearing on Friday heard that materials received by coroner Dr Myra Cullinane relating to the death, and disclosed to Pte Rooney's family, contain redactions 'in light of operational security and force protection.' Pte Rooney (24), from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, was killed in an attack on a convoy of Irish peacekeepers in Al-Aqbiya, a Unifil area in Lebanon, in December 2022. Dr Cullinane said the Defence Forces had expressed concern about putting 'extremely sensitive' material and information included in the documents into the public domain during inquest hearings. READ MORE The Defence Forces argued this would elevate operational risks to personnel deployed to the Unifil mission in Lebanon. Dr Cullinane said some of the 'very sensitive aspects of the documentation' she now holds could be quite relevant to her inquiry into the 24-year-old's death. While acknowledging the need for a public inquiry, barrister Remy Farrell, representing the Defence Forces and the Minister for Defence, highlighted the risk posed to personnel currently serving. [ A 'selfless' soldier who was due to marry Opens in new window ] He suggested the court go into in-camera sessions for certain sensitive evidence. However, Dr Cullinane said she would need to be satisfied that it is 'lawful to do so' noting that such a provision is not referred to in 'any of the statute' in relation to the coroner's court. Counsel for the family Seán Guerin said force protection was a matter 'very close to the heart of the family', though he described the public nature of inquests as 'an important part of the coroner's function.' Mr Guerin said it was not yet possible for the family to be definitive in its position. However, he expected it to adopt the view of the court should some matters be deemed not suitable for public hearing even if it was legal. Mr Guerin asked to be furnished with reasons for each redaction in the documents. Dr Cullinane said her impression was that 'anything touching' the 'most sensitive issue raised' had been redacted. The coroner sought written submissions from both parties concerning the manner in which sensitive evidence could be heard and adjourned the inquest until later this month. Separately, Dr Cullinane told the court she had received materials from the United Nations and was permitted to disclose these to both parties on the condition that they be retained for the use of the inquest and not disclosed further. A previous sitting heard the UN had carried out 'substantial' and 'significant' investigations into the events surrounding the killing of Pte Rooney but the international body considered the reports 'confidential'. Counsel for the family during the previous hearing said they wanted to dispel 'the noxious narrative' that Pte Rooney 'took a wrong turn' while driving a UN vehicle before the attack. Pte Rooney was killed by gunfire when his armoured vehicle was ambushed as it drove north through Al-Aqbiya, a town controlled by the Iranian backed militant group Hizbullah . One man, Mohammad Ayyad, was later arrested and detained for allegedly taking part in the attack. He spent a year in detention before being freed by a Lebanese military court on medical grounds. Mr Ayyad failed to turn up at subsequent hearings. Four other accused have never appeared in court, and their location is unknown. Earlier this year, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris expressed 'deep disappointment and dissatisfaction at the slow progress of the legal proceedings'.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Conor McGregor appeal: MMA star and witness couple could face prosecution after evidence withdrawal - as issue is referred to prosecutors
Conor McGregor and a couple he put forward before withdrawing as witnesses in his appeal could be facing criminal prosecution after a major development. Last year, a 12-person jury in Dublin found the MMA star guilty of sexually assaulting Nikita Hand in a civil case after McGregor had been accused of raping her at a Dublin hotel in December 2018. The Irishman, 36, was subsequently ordered to pay Ms Hand more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages and an estimated €1.3million (£1.12m) in legal costs. McGregor, who has always denied the claims, appealed against the decision and Ireland's Court of Appeal has been hearing evidence over the past two days, with a verdict expected to be reached at a later date. His grounds for appeal included claims that Judge Alexander Owens erred in directing the jury be asked to answer whether Mr McGregor 'assaulted' Ms Hand, rather than whether he had 'sexually assaulted' her. He believed this left the verdict open to interpretation. His barrister, Remy Farrell, said McGregor was also challenging how the judge allowed Ms Hand's lawyers to ask McGregor about dozens of 'no comment' responses he gave gardaí in 2019 interviews, after he was arrested following the initial rape complaint. McGregor was also seeking to introduce new evidence, which included allegations that Ms Hand was beaten by her then-partner on the evening she claimed she had been raped by the fighter. McGregor said new evidence had come from Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, who lived across the street from Ms Hand and her then-partner Stephen Redmond at the time. He said Ms O'Reilly had now alleged she saw a 'heated row' from her upstairs window on the night of December 9, 2018. He said she alleged Ms Hand was punched and kicked by Mr Redmond on the ground. Meanwhile, Mr Cummins claimed he did not see what had happened, but that in the night he was woken by screams and shouts from Ms Hand's house. McGregor's legal team has suggested this explained the serious bruising on Ms Hand's body when she was taken by ambulance to hospital. McGregor has always denied causing the bruising, which was a significant feature of the civil trial, but could not offer a plausible alternative explanation. However, this new evidence was dramatically withdrawn at the beginning of the appeal on Tuesday, despite the couple having previously revealed their evidence in a sworn affidavit. Ms Hand has previously debunked the claims, labelling them 'lies' and was prepared to be cross-examined about the matter. Her lawyer also hit out at McGregor in regards to the evidence that was dropped and claimed his client was due an apology for being 'put through the wringer'. He then alleged on Wednesday that the proposed evidence, which had been picked up and circulated in various media reports, had only been done to undermine Ms Hand's reputation. As a result, he suggested that 'perjury' may have occurred and the three judges subsequently agreed to his request to refer documentation to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DPP is the head of the prosecuting authority in several jurisdictions and one of their key roles is to oversee the conduct of criminal proceedings. They will now investigate and examine whether 'perjury' has taken place and anyone found guilty of that could be criminally prosecuted. However, McGregor's legal team claimed the withdrawal came because there would be no way to correlate the evidence and also that other supporting material they would be keen to introduce wouldn't be admissible. Despite the explanation, judges were left confused and attempted to gain further clarity over the decision. One claimed they didn't understand why it had been withdrawn and another admitted they had been left 'bemused'.
