Man sentenced to prison for ‘calculated and deliberate’ contempt of court

A “blatant” contempt of court by a witness who travelled to Ayia Napa when he was due to give evidence in the trial of a teenager who committed violent disorder at the Cameron Blair murder scene has seen him jailed for two months.

Sentencing Darragh O’Connor (20) at the Central Criminal Court on Friday, Mr Justice David Keane said the contempt of court in this case was “blatant and premeditated” and that its consequences could only be viewed as “serious” as it had “plainly disrupted” the conduct of a trial.

The judge said O’Connor, who admitted the offence of contempt of court, had made a “calculated and deliberate” decision to prioritise his “holiday decisions over legal obligations”.

A message must go out to every court in the land, Mr Justice Keane stressed, that failure to comply with witness summons and the inevitable disruptions that this causes is “a cause of action that cannot be tolerated”.

It was the State’s belief that O’Connor, of Deermount, Deerpark, Cork and his co-accused Craig O’Donoghue (20) had left the jurisdiction in order to avoid giving evidence at the trial of a 16-year-old accused.

The sentence hearing for Mr O’Donoghue, of Killala Court, Knocknaheeney, Cork was also expected to take place on Friday but the court was told that he has tested positive for Covid-19.

A production order for Mr O’Donoghue was made for next Wednesday and “if matters allow” the court will then proceed to a hearing.