Jim Mansfield Jnr jailed for 18 months for attempting to impede garda investigation

 7th April 2022

Martin Byrne was kidnapped by a seven-man gang on June 9, 2015, after attending a meeting with Mansfield (54).

He was taken in convoy to his home in Saggart where he was assaulted in front of his wife and son while being told they must vacate the property.

The mob was led by dissident terrorists Dessie O’Hare (64)- known as the Border Fox- and Declan ‘Whacker’ Duffy (47) who have been convicted of false imprisonment and assault.

Last month Jim Mansfield Jnr, of Tassagart House in Saggart, Dublin, was found guilty by non-jury court of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the false imprisonment.

The non-jury court ruled that he directed Patrick Byrne, the brother of Martin, to destroy CCTV recordings at Finnstown House Hotel on the day of the abduction.

The footage, which was not destroyed but instead given to gardaí, showed Martin Byrne and Jim Mansfield travelling in a car together on the morning of the abduction.

The court said this was done to prevent gardaí from getting hold of an important piece of evidence which would have been material to the criminal investigation.

However, the three judges acquitted the businessman of conspiring to falsely imprison Martin Byrne saying it could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he had directed the mob to abduct his former security adviser.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens today said the attempt to pervert the course of justice involved a “cack-handed” request to the victim’s brother.

He said that the gravity of the offending would have been greater if Jim Mansfield was found guilty of conspiring to kidnap Mr Byrne, or if he had succeeded in the destruction of the CCTV.

His actions, the court said, fall into the category of foolish and selfish criminality.

The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment, with the final six months suspended, and backdated the sentence to when he was first in custody.

Earlier detective sergeant Eamon O’Neill told prosecutor Shane Costelloe SC that Jim Mansfield has no relevant previous convictions and has been in custody since being convicted on January 17.

He agreed with Bernard Condon SC, defending, that there were never issues in relation to garda dealings with the defendant while he was before the courts.

Mr Condon said that there were no aggravating factors such as a threat or inducement, with Mr Justice Alexander Owens interjecting saying that Jim Mansfield also wasn’t successful in perverting the course of justice.

The barrister said his client had been living with his 74-year-old mother as her carer, and was involved in running the Finnstown House Hotel.

He also submitted a psychological report to the court. Mr Condon said this wasn’t to deprecate Jim Mansfield but said that the report stated he may have a mild to border-line intellectual disability and has difficulties with day-to-day life.

Character references were also given to the court which Mr Condon said described his client as “happy and jolly” and having a “childlike innocence”.

A media report from the Irish Independent, relating to a helicopter crash involving golfer Christy O’Connor Jnr, was also handed into the court.

Mr Condon said that the article outlined how Jim Mansfield went to help the golfer and showed that he was a person who “went out of his way to assist a man in severe difficulties”.

Members of Jim Mansfield’s family, including his children and ex-wife, were in court to support him.

He gave his family a thumbs up and waved to them as he was led away by prison guards.

In their judgement last month, the court said that although the “most likely” reason for the business meeting prior to the assault was to abduct Mr Byrne, the court could not rule out that Mansfield was misled by O’Hare and Duffy as to the purpose for the meeting.

Mr Justice Owens said there was contact between them and Jim Mansfield for “nefarious purposes” but that the two dissident republicans also had a personal animus towards Mr Byrne.

The three judges also accepted that Mr Mansfield was aware that the New IRA and INLA were “involved on his behalf” at the time of the meeting in June 2015.

They found the accused guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice by directing Patrick Byrne to destroy recorded CCTV footage, with the alleged intention of perverting the course of public justice in relation to the false imprisonment of Martin Byrne at Finnstown House Hotel, Newcastle Road, Lucan, Co Dublin between June 9, 2015, and June 12, 2015.

The footage showed Mr Byrne and Mr Mansfield leaving Finnstown House Hotel in a black Audi A6 on the morning of the abduction.

Later that day CCTV recordings also showed O’Hare and Duffy in a car “which corresponded in appearance” to the Audi less than two hours after the false imprisonment.

Patrick Byrne gave evidence that Jim Mansfield Jnr ordered him to destroy the footage, but instead later handed this over to gardaí.

The Special Criminal Court accepted the evidence of the witness and said it was clear that Jim Mansfield directed Mr Byrne to destroy the footage to prevent gardaí from getting a hold of an important piece of evidence.