Law « Thurles Information

HSA Investigation Underway Following Workplace Death In Co. Tipperary.

The Health and Safety Authority has launched an investigation following the death of a man in his 40s at a meat processing facility in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary.

Mr Patrick Gleeson, who was from Youghal, Co. Cork, was pronounced dead after an incident at the Roscrea factory at approximately 3:00pm on Monday last, March 9th 2026. Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene, and the local coroner was notified.

Mr Gleeson, a father of one, was laid to rest following his funeral Mass. His family said they have been left devastated and are trying to understand the circumstances surrounding his death. Gardaí confirmed that the Health and Safety Authority was notified and is carrying out its own investigation into the incident.

No further details on the circumstances of the death have been made public at this stage.

According to provisional figures published by the Health and Safety Authority, 58 people died in work-related incidents in Ireland during 2025, up from 36 in 2024.

Gardaí Seize Drugs and Cash Following Operation In West Co. Tipperary.

A man in his 30s has been arrested after drugs, with an estimated value of €280,000, were seized in Co. Tipperary.

**€280,000, estimated value of drugs seized in Co. Tipperary on Thursday last.**

The discovery was made in the Birdhill area of Tipperary on Thursday last, after gardaí attached to Nenagh Garda Station responded to an incident involving a van on the M7. During a search of the vehicle, officers recovered suspected cannabis worth approximately €280,000, along with €20,000 in cash. A small quantity of suspected cocaine was also seized.

The arrested man was taken to a Garda station in Tipperary for questioning, while investigations into the incident remain ongoing.

The seizure underlines the ongoing impact of illegal drugs on communities across Ireland. Drug trafficking is closely linked to organised crime and can bring intimidation, violence, addiction and deep social harm. Beyond those directly involved, the drugs trade places a heavy burden on families, neighbourhoods and local services, damaging the sense of safety and wellbeing in society.

Gardaí have continued to stress the importance of disrupting the supply of illegal drugs and protecting communities from the serious dangers associated with the trade.

Thurles: Former Judge Appeals Conviction For Historic Sexual Offences.

Mr Gerard O’Brien, the former Circuit Court judge, convicted of attempted rape and sexual abuse involving six young men, has appealed his conviction before the Court of Appeal, with his legal team alleging that the trial judge’s directions to the jury were confusing, unbalanced and unfair to the defence.

Mr O’Brien, aged 61 years, of Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, was convicted in December 2023 at the Central Criminal Court of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault. The offences related to six complainants and occurred between March 1991 and November 1997, when O’Brien was working as a secondary school teacher at CBC Monkstown in Dublin.
Four of the complainants were students or former students of Mr O’Brien at that time. They were aged between 17 years and 24 years old.
The complainants have previously indicated that they wished for Mr O’Brien to be named while maintaining their own anonymity.

Mr O’Brien had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He later resigned from the Circuit Court, having been appointed to the bench back in 2015, and had been on leave since the allegations emerged. In June 2024, he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by Mr Justice Alexander Owens, who said Mr O’Brien was “unsuitable to hold office”.

Opening the appeal today, senior counsel for Mr O’Brien, Mr Hugh Hartnett, said there were a number of significant issues with the trial judge’s charge to the jury. He said the overall complaint was that the directions were confusing and weighted against the defence, and that the alleged errors were sufficient, individually and cumulatively, to render the trial unfair.

Counsel submitted that the charge was unbalanced and, at times, had the effect of diminishing matters relied upon by the defence. He referred to comments made by the trial judge warning jurors not to enter a “parallel universe of make-belief” and to observations that jurors were not obliged to accept evidence they considered “incredible” or “outlandish”. Mr Hartnett argued that, although not directed exclusively at Mr O’Brien, the emphasis of those remarks bore particularly on the appellant’s evidence.

The defence also challenged the judge’s direction on lies told by an accused, arguing that the warning given to the jury was confusing. It was further submitted that jurors may have felt pressure to reach a verdict after being told they could deliberate on Christmas Eve if necessary. Additional grounds included the refusal of an application for separate trials and the judge’s direction that jurors could take account of Mr O’Brien’s legal knowledge, when assessing statements and interviews with gardaí.

For the State, Ms Anne-Marie Lawlor said the suggestion that the trial judge had conveyed personal views on guilt or innocence was “misconceived”. She submitted that the jury had been properly instructed and that there was no merit in the claim that Mr O’Brien’s evidence had been unfairly discredited. She also rejected the criticism of the warning on lies, saying there was no requirement for any set formula of words.

Ms Lawlor said the trial judge had properly addressed the challenges arising from historic allegations and had correctly dealt with the application for separate trials. She urged the Court of Appeal to uphold the conviction.

Mr Justice John Edwards said the three-judge court would reserve judgment.

Garda Appeal Following Fatal Traffic Collision At Ballinlassa, Templemore Co. Tipperary.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic collision that occurred at Ballinlassa, between Templemore and Templetouhy, on the R502 in County Tipperary, on yesterday evening, Sunday March 8th, 2026.

Shortly after 7.00pm, Gardaí and emergency services responded to reports of a collision involving a pedestrian and a car. The pedestrian, a woman in her 20s, was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later.

The motorist involved did not require immediate hospital treatment. The Coroner has been notified and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

The scene was preserved for examination by Forensic Collision Investigators, and local traffic diversions were put in place. Motorists were advised to follow all diversion routes and Garda directions.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision to come forward. Road users who were travelling on the R502 at the time, and who may have camera footage, including dash-cam recordings, are asked to make that material available to investigating Gardaí.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Thurles Garda Station, Tel: 0504 25100, the Garda Confidential Line, Tel: 1800 666 111, or indeed any Garda station.

Revenue Processes €26.7m In Tax Adjustments Following Reviews Of Worker Classification.

The Revenue Commissioners have processed gross tax adjustments totalling €26.7 million arising from cases where workers were incorrectly treated as self-employed rather than employees.

Revenue said 280 voluntary disclosures were made, covering more than 6,600 employees. The disclosures relate to situations where some businesses classified staff as self-employed contractors when, in practice, the individuals should have been on payroll as employees.

Revenue Chairperson Mr Niall Cody is scheduled to appear before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee on today, where he is expected to outline the findings and the compliance activity behind them.

Mr Cody is also due to highlight that, while misclassification has long been a known compliance risk, the Supreme Court decision in Revenue Commissioners V Karshan, in October 2023 has significantly altered the operating environment for employers. The case, commonly referred to as the Domino’s Pizza delivery drivers judgment, upheld Revenue’s position that the workers involved were employees rather than independent contractors.

The ruling has been widely viewed as a landmark moment in addressing bogus self-employment, where individuals carry out work comparable to employees but without access to standard employment protections and benefits such as paid leave, sick pay and pension contributions. Historically, the issue has been particularly associated with sectors including construction and media.