Private O'Doherty

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: O'Flaherty J.
• Judgment Date: 29 July 1991
• Neutral Citation: 1998 WJSC-CMAC 11283
• Docket Number: No. 2CM/1990
• Court: Courts-Martial Appeal Court
• Date: 29 July 1991

1998 WJSC-CMAC 11283

THE HIGH COURT

COURTS-MARTIAL APPEAL COURT

O'Flaherty J.

Barr J.

Morris J.

No. 2CM/1990

PRIVATE O'DOHERTY

PRIVATE SEAN O'DOHERTY

Appellant

Citations:

DEFENCE ACT 1954 S135(1)

DEFENCE ACT 1954 S210(1)(e)

Words & Phrases:

CEF

Subject Headings:

*

O'Flaherty J.

1 In this case the appellant appeals against severity of sentence in respect of a finding of being absent without leave contrary to s. 135(1) of the Defence Act, 1954. This was after a limited Court-Martial that was held at Finner Camp, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, on the 2nd October, 1990. It appears he was absent for a period of 605 days. He was found not guilty of a charge of desertion and no other punishments were inflicted aside from that of being discharged from the Defence Force under s. 210 (1)(e) of the Defence Act, 1954.

2 The points urged before us very fully by Mr. Needham are that he had an unhappy breakdown of his marriage and he was subject to a certain amount of jeering from his companions and so forth in relation to that and he had also run into financial difficulties. It appears that these points were not expressly made in express terms before the Court-Martial but we are told that the members of the Court-Martial knew about them.

3 The Court would wish to say that first of all the defendant should put everything that he can urge before the Court-Martial because this appeal-Court has a very limited function and it can only review the case that was made before the...