The parents of 11-year-old Midleton schoolboy Robert Holohan had expressed concern in a letter last month to the DPP about aspects of Mr Justice Paul Carney's sentencing of Wayne O'Donoghue for the manslaughter of their son, The Irish Times has learned.
O'Donoghue's solicitor, Frank Buttimer, confirmed yesterday that his client had learned of the DPP's decision to appeal the sentence via radio reports.
However, he said that he had briefed him on what the procedure would involve and that O'Donoghue would be contesting the appeal.
Meanwhile the coroner for South Cork, Frank O'Connell, told The Irish Times yesterday that it was unlikely that he would open the inquest into Robert Holohan's death until after the appeal proceedings had been concluded.
In the letter which was sent to the DPP two days after O'Donoghue was sentenced to four years for Robert's manslaughter, Mrs Majella Holohan queried some of Mr Justice Carney's comments about her son's injuries.
In particular, she expressed concerns over both Mr Justice Carney's comments that Robert's injuries were "at the horseplay end of the scale" and over the weight that Mr Justice Carney appeared to attach to medical evidence called by the defence.
Medical evidence was given on behalf of the defence by Prof Jack Crane, chief pathologist of Northern Ireland, who agreed with State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy that Robert's death was "an asphyxial type of death related to some pressure or force being applied to his neck".
But Mrs Holohan pointed out in her letter to DPP James Hamilton that Prof Crane had never examined Robert's body but based his findings on notes and photographs taken by Prof Cassidy, who carried out the postmortem.
She also expressed concern that Mr Justice Carney made no reference to injuries to Robert's mouth as well as bruises on his back and buttocks and on the inner surface of his fourth and sixth ribs and to soft tissues over the rib cage identified by Prof Cassidy.
The DPP had already replied to Mrs Holohan's letter earlier this month and expressed his sympathies over the loss of her son.