Judge Carroll Moran, who rescinded the jail sentence on the drink-drive garda who killed a man, has handed down a number of noteworthy sentences. Among them are:

October 14th, 1997. A three-year suspended sentence on a school vice-principal convicted by a jury of sexually assaulting a boy. The judge said the 54-year-old single man escaped custodial sentence because a leading psychiatrist said his offences were on the "lighter side" and he was unlikely to reoffend. The man had been found guilty of one charge of sexual assault and two of common assault.

Tuesday, July 22nd: A 15-year-old Dublin youth was given two years in an adult prison for robbery and other offences after the judge found he was "unruly" and unsuitable for detention in Trinity House.

January 23rd: He awarded Private Kieran Cantwell £3,000 for food poisoning at Kilkenny Circuit Court. The soldier had consumed egg mayonnaise while serving in south Lebanon in 1996.

JUDGE Kieran O'Connor, whose original nine-year jail sentence on Sabrina Walsh was reduced to six years by Judge Hugh O'Flaherty, has also handed down heavy sentences in the past. Among them are:

November 6th, 1997: Joeleen O'Brien (18), Cherry Orchard Avenue, Ballyfermot, Dublin, pleaded guilty to her role in three robberies involving cash and rings in Dublin city centre. Sentenced by Judge O'Connor to eight years in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, to be reviewed in 1999 on condition she was drug-free for six months.

October 10th, 1997: Joseph Shannon (47), Pearse House, Dublin, was initially given six years by Judge O'Connor, who then suspended it. Guilty of stealing Georgian doors and a fireplace.