Man with gun who threatened to kill others loses conviction appeal

Eoin Reynolds

A man who was jailed for having a firearm at a halting site, where he was heard saying "I'll kill you all; man, woman or child", has failed in a bid to have his conviction overturned.

In March 2021, Simon Quilligan, who was found not guilty of attempted murder arising from the same incident but was sentenced to six years' imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life.

The sentencing judge, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath, described the evidence at trial as "painting a rather horrifying picture" of adults and children being "terrorised" by the incident.

Quilligan (40), with a previous address at Blackberry Lane, Athlone, Co Westmeath, denied the seven charges against him and was acquitted on three charges. He appealed his conviction for the firearms offence, for which he was jailed for six years.

Quilligan's lawyer, Padraig Dwyer SC, told the three-judge Court of Appeal last April that the conviction for possessing a firearm should not have gone to the jury because there was "insufficient evidence".

Mr Dwyer also stated that the conviction was inconsistent with the jury's finding that Quilligan was not guilty of a charge of intentionally or recklessly discharging a firearm.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy delivered the ruling on Thursday, stating there was "ample evidence" to allow the matter to go to the jury and dismissed the suggestion that the conviction was inconsistent with the acquittal on the charge of discharging a firearm.

The judge said that to convict a person of intentionally or recklessly discharging a firearm, a jury must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the discharge represented a risk of death or serious harm.

The jury was entitled to entertain a reasonable doubt about that element, he added, while also finding that Quilligan possessed the gun with the intent to endanger life.

Quilligan is due for release on June 10th, 2024. The Court of Appeal will set a date for his sentence appeal next week.