Manslaughter conviction overturned after 39 years

Ratoath man Martin Conmey described Monday as a very emotional day for him, following a decision by the Court of Criminal Appeal to overturn his conviction of almost 40 years ago for the manslaughter of Una Lynskey. The three-judge appeal court quashed Mr Conmey's conviction as unsafe after finding “newly discovered facts†showed there may have been a miscarriage of justice in his case. Mr Conmey (59), from Porterstown Lane, Ratoath, had always maintained he was not responsible for the death of 19 year-old civil servant Una Lynskey. She vanished while returning home from work on the evening of 12th October 1971. Her body was found in the Dublin mountains in late 1971, two months after she had disappeared. Mr Conmey and another man, Dick Donnelly, were convicted of her manslaughter in 1972. A third man, Martin Kerrigan, was also suspected of having been involved in Ms Lynskey's death, but he was abducted and killed a short time after her body was discovered. The court found initial statements taken by Gardaí from certain witnesses in the case, which were different to later statements provided by those witnesses, had not been supplied to the defence when they should have been. Lawyers for Mr Conmey had argued those original statements proved he was innocent. Mr Donnelly won his appeal against his conviction in 1973, but Mr Conmey was unsuccessful in his appeal and served a three-year jail sentence. He again appealed against his conviction under Section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1993, which allows an appeal to be brought on the basis of newly discovered facts. His lawyers will now seek a declaration there was a miscarriage of justice in the case. “Today has been a very emotional day for me,†he said in a statement issued after the outcome of Monday's case. “I spent the last 39 years insisting on my innocence; for the last 12 years, my legal team have been fighting to get my case heard. Today, I have been vindicated. This verdict highlights the serious flaws that were inherent in the original trial.†He said he was most grateful to the legal team which stuck by him through very difficult and testing times. “I would like to thank my family and friends, in particular my wife, Anne, and son, Ray. They have supported me and remained loyal to me. Their unwavering belief in me provided me with the strength and determination to take this case and ultimately, clear my name,†said Mt Conmey. In quashing the conviction, the court, comprising Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, presiding, sitting with Mr Justice Declan Budd and Mr Justice Eamon de Valera, found certain original statements made by witnesses at Mr Conmey's trial were not disclosed to the defence when they should have been. Gardaí took witness statements from three men and then returned a number of days later to take further statements, which were different from the originals, the court noted. Mr Justice Hardiman said the reasons for the Gardaí's actions and why the statements had changed were unexplained. Lawyers for Mr Conmey argued the non-disclosure in 1972 of witnesses' statements favouring the defence proved his innocence. It was claimed certain witness statements and evidence given at his trial were inconsistent with earlier statements to Gardaí that were not disclosed. In those earlier statements, the witnesses were unable to place Mr Conmey or a car owned by Mr Donnelly, in which the DPP had alleged Mr Conmey was travelling, on Porterstown Lane between 7pm and 7.15pm on the day Ms Lynskey was last seen. The statements were all inconsistent with the State's case that Mr Conmey was in the back seat of the car in Porterstown Lane at the relevant time.