High Court dismisses personal injury case brought by woman whose sister was murdered in 1975

After a 36-year delay for an inquest, the woman sought a court declaration that the failure to hold an inquest within a reasonable period of time amounted to a 'denial of natural justice'

The case was taken by Ms Birkinshaw against the coroner for Tipperary North, North Tipperary County Council, and the justice minister. Picture: iStock

The High Court has dismissed the case of a woman who sued her local coroner's office and the justice minister, claiming trauma from a 36-year delay for an inquest into the death of her sister, who was killed in brutal circumstances.

In February 1975, then 30-year-old Anne Birkinshaw's sister, Kathleen Cashin, was killed in Co Tipperary. An individual was found "guilty but insane" of her murder.