This article is from page 1 of the 2011-01-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
A MAN who is serving a six-year jail sentence for killing a 14-year-old boy during an Ennis street row is attempting to bring a case to the Supreme Court, after he lost his appeal against a conviction for manslaughter last July.
Michael Doherty, who lived at Ashline, Ennis, died as a result of a fight outside Supermac’s restaurant on O’Connell Street, Ennis, on June 23, 2007. He died from a single stab wound, having been knifed with a Swiss army knife.
John McGovern (21), of Ballyduff, Barefield, Ennis, was found not guilty of murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Ennis, in February 2009, but guilty of manslaughter. He later appealed the conviction, but lost the appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA).
However, McGovern succeeded in his application to have a conviction for possession of a knife on the night of the boy’s death set aside.
His legal team has now made an application to the court to bring an appeal of the CCA decision to the Supreme Court.
This application before the CCA will be heard in three weeks’ time, after which time the CCA will decide whether the case can go before the Supreme Court.
“The Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) will hear the application. If you lose an appeal, you can seek leave to bring a further appeal on a point of law of public importance. He has applied to bring that and that will be heard in the Court of Criminal Appeal.”