Barefield man John McGovern, convicted of the manslaughter of a 14 year old boy in Ennis has failed in his bid to take his appeal to the Supreme Court.
The 21 year old of Ballyduff, Barefield was jailed for 6 years by the Central Criminal Court for the fatal stabbing of settled traveller Michael Doherty outside Supermacs in Ennis three years ago.
H denied a charge of murder but was sentenced to six years imprisonment in March 2009 after a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of the young settled traveller from Ashline, Ennis.
Mr Justice Paul Carney also imposed a concurrent three-year sentence on McGovern for producing a knife on the same date.
Although McGovern failed in a bid to have his manslaughter conviction overturned last July the three judge court of criminal appeal did set aside his conviction for producing a knife.
Lawyers for McGovern subsequently submitted an application to have his case referred to the Supreme Court on a point of law as a matter of public interest.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal this week they argued that because there was an error in one of the trial judge’s charges to the jury this had contaminated the other and that both charges should be set aside.
However the three judge court rejected this stating they were not satisfied that both of the judge’s charges had to be set aside in circumstances where a conviction was overturned based on one of the charges.
Presiding Judge Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan added the court found that the legal points raised could not be said to be of public importance and that the applicant had not met the proper requirements for a referral to the Supreme Court.
