Man appeals conviction for rape and murder of girl

A MAN has begun his appeal against his conviction for the murder of a schoolgirl on a remote beach near Carraroe, Co Galway, in December 1998.

Six years ago, John “Demesne” McDonagh, aged 33, a builder’s labourer, of The Demesne, Keeraunbeg, Carraroe, Connemara, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the rape and murder of Siobhán Hynes, then aged 17, of Sconse, Lettermore, Connemara, at Tismeain beach, in the townland of Keeraunbeg, in the early hours of December 6, 1998.

At the Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) in Dublin yesterday, Counsel for McDonagh, Timothy O’Leary SC, made an application for leave to introduce new evidence, which he said “goes to the core of the case”.