Two men appeal convictions for their part in attack on gunman Tristan Sherry

Two Dublin men have launched appeals against their convictions for taking part in the attack on gunman Tristan Sherry, who was beaten to death after he shot and fatally wounded gangland figure Jason Hennessy snr in a busy restaurant on Christmas Eve three years ago. Barristers for Michael Andrecut (24) argued that the trial court had not given enough consideration to the element of provocation, as Andrecut had just witnessed the fatal shooting of someone very close to him. Barristers for Brandon Hennessy (23), the son of deceased man Jason Hennessy snr, took issue with the manner in which the prosecution identified his client on CCTV footage.A Special Criminal Court trial, which took place in 2024, heard that Tristan Sherry and a second gunman dressed all in black and with their faces covered entered Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown at about 8pm on Christmas Eve 2023. Jason Hennessy snr and about 30 others had gathered there for a party.Sherry shot Hennessy snr before he dragged the gunman to the floor. Within seconds, Jason Hennessy snr collapsed while other members of his party set on the gunman.READ MOREThree of them inflicted 16 stab wounds, 11 incised wounds and blunt force injuries that caused his death. Those three, including Andrecut, were found guilty of murder following a trial. Three others, including Brandon Hennessy, were convicted of violent disorder arising from the same incident. Andrecut, of Sheephill Avenue in Blanchardstown, was sentenced to the mandatory life term for murder. Hennessy, also of Sheephill Avenue, was jailed for 4½ years with the final six months suspended. When the matter came before the three-judge Special Criminal Court for sentencing in May of last year, Judge Kerida Naidoo accepted that all the accused found themselves in an “extreme situation” created by Sherry and the second gunman.However, he added that the court must deter others from the “misguided belief that the kind of unlawful violence engaged in on the night can ever be justified”. The judge also noted that Brandon Hennessy struck Tristan Sherry with a brush while he was disarmed on the ground and under the control of people surrounding him. He did not act in self-defence, the judge said.In launching an appeal against conviction on Thursday, counsel for Andrecut, Dominic McGinn, said his ground of appeal related to the trial court’s assessment of the provocation test. He said the incident occurred in a busy family restaurant on Christmas Eve, when half of the customers were children. He said there was no atmosphere of violence when the group went in to enjoy a meal, before two armed men entered out of the blue and opened fire.McGinn submitted that this could not be anything but a provocative act, but the trial court misdirected itself in law as to how to apply the criteria for the provocation test.He said that the whole idea of provocation is that it allows mitigation where someone does something in direct reaction to a provocative act. He said that everything happened very fast, with violence starting within 11 seconds of the gunmen entering.Counsel for Brandon Hennessy, Hugh Hartnett, said that the trial was unsatisfactory because of the recognition system adopted.He said that four or five members of the gardaí were in a position to identify the appellant entering the restaurant, but no proper explanation was given as to why they didn’t identify the person they alleged was Brandon Hennessy striking down three times on Tristan Sherry with a brush handle. Judge John Edwards said that the court would reserve judgment in the case.