A nun charged with forgery has been found not guilty by direction of Judge Kieran O'Connor in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Sister Mary Gregory O'Reilly was discharged from the dock by Judge O'Connor, who told the jury he was satisfied she had forged another woman's name on a document, but there was not sufficient evidence to prove she intended to defraud anyone.
Sister Gregory, of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, had pleaded not guilty to forging the name of Ms Margaret McLoughlin, a nurse from Athlone, on a document in February 1992 with intent to defraud.
Judge O'Connor said his decision to withdraw the case from the jury and direct the entering of a not guilty verdict came after an application by defence counsel, Mr Patrick Keane, at the end of the prosecution case.
The jury heard the document was intended to be used as part of the memorandum of association of a company called All-Ireland Children's Hospice Ltd.
Ms McLoughlin told the trial she was "shocked" to see her name signed on the disputed document by someone else. She said her signature on the version of the document used in forming the company was written by herself.
Judge O'Connor told the jury he was "very impressed" with the evidence of the garda witnesses.
Judge O'Connor said if he had allowed the case to go to the jury and Sister Gregory had been found guilty it would have been a perverse verdict.
He told the jury that when someone forged another person's name it was not in itself an offence, unless it could be proven there was intent to defraud or deceive. He was satisfied with the evidence given by the gardai that Sister Gregory had admitted writing Ms McLoughlin's name on the disputed document.
The judge said Sister Gregory set out to found a hospice and to form a company to run it. That hospice idea might have been "a complete and utter scam from the start to cheat the public, or a noble aim to help very ill children". He added: "Given this type of possible variation, you as members of the jury had no evidence that she had the intention to defraud anyone, as the evidence to prove that was totally lacking."
Judge O'Connor said he was satisfied he had a duty to withdraw the case from the jury on that one point alone, even though the defence had made other forceful points in seeking a direction of not guilty.