The Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a man against a 15-year sentence imposed after he shot and wounded a Sinn Fein councillor and his son during a First Holy Communion service in a church in Ballymun, Dublin.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane, presiding over the three-judge court, said the crime by Peter McCann (33), Balcurris Road, Ballymun, was carried out in a place dedicated to public worship, where children were present for one of the most important days of their young lives. There was evidence of premeditation, McCann was well prepared to make his escape and there was no error of principle in the trial court's decision.
McCann had sought leave to appeal against the sentence imposed for the attempted murder of Mr Larry O'Toole snr, a Sinn Fein councillor, at St Joseph's Church, Balcurris Road, Ballymun, on May 16th, 1998.
Mr O'Toole, with his son Lar (who has since died following a fall from a tower block in Ballymun), was attending the First Communion of his granddaughter Laura (eight), with about 60 other children.
McCann walked into the church and went up to the O'Tooles, shouted at them, drew a pistol and shot Lar O'Toole in the face and Mr O'Toole snr in the back.
McCann left the church pursued by a crowd, including Lar O'Toole, who was again shot in the chest and suffered a collapsed lung. McCann was wrestled to the ground by a garda.
Mr Justice Carney described the attack as "a crime against civilisation" and jailed McCann for 15 years.
Mr Barry White SC, for Mc Cann, argued Mr Justice Carney was blinded by his abhorrence of the incident and its location. He failed to take into account McCann's unhappy childhood, having lost his mother at the age of 14, and that his life took on a downward spiral after that, with a pattern of alcohol and substance abuse.
Mr Edward Comyn SC, for the DPP, said there was evidence of premeditation and intention. Denying Mr Justice Carney was carried away by the events, he said he could have imposed a life sentence for attempted murder. Mr O'Toole snr still had a bullet in his back.