A judge has said “every effort should be made” to progress matters in an application by a man who is attempting to have his wrongful conviction more than 45 years ago for the Sallins train robbery declared a miscarriage of justice.
The mail train robbery took place on March 31st, 1976 when the Cork-to-Dublin train was robbed near Sallins in Co Kildare and an estimated £200,000 stolen.
Osgur Breatnach (75) was one of five members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party who were subsequently arrested.
Mr Breatnach was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years by the Special Criminal Court but his conviction was quashed in May 1980 after the Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that his confession had been obtained under “oppression”.
RM Block
He is now seeking to have his wrongful conviction declared a miscarriage of justice.
Mr Breatnach’s case was raised briefly on Friday during a case management list at the Court of Appeal where barrister Miceál O’Connor told the court he appears for Mr Breatnach instructed by KRW law. Mr Justice Edwards, presiding, said he had read the paperwork, which clearly raised “serious issues”.
He said it was a matter for the State to reply to Mr Breatnach’s affidavit and noted that as “very significant issues are raised” a considerable amount of time would be required to allow the DPP time to respond. The judge said he would put the matter back for three months and adjourned the case to October 24th.
A State solicitor asked for “a little longer” given the court’s upcoming long vacation.
Mr O’Connor said he believed three months was sufficient. “We can see where we are at that stage,” he added.
Mr Justice Edwards refused the request, saying: “I’m not closing the door to more time, but I think every effort should be made to try and progress the matter in the next three months.”
Following today’s hearing, Mr Breatnach’s solicitor Kevin Winters of KRW Law confirmed the company has filed an application to the Court of Appeal under section 9 of The Criminal Procedure Act 1993 certifying that a newly discovered fact or facts point to a miscarriage of justice which led to Mr Breathnach’s wrongful robbery conviction on December 13th, 1978.
“We’re delighted the court has requested immediate expedition of this application,” Mr Winters said.
